In a Flash
by RoadrunnerGER
Summary: In a matter of a split second everything can change. Will they get out of this unharmed? crossover with SVU. BA
1. Chapter 1

**In a Flash**

**by RoadrunnerGER**** and ****Obsessedwithstabler **

Same ole song: don't own anything!**  
**

A/N: As _Obsessedwithstabler _already said on her profile, this story was moved from her to my account. Her muse left her considering this one, so I'll try to keep it running. Thanks for the first reviews. Hope ch2 will follow soon.

**Chapter 1 **

Standing in the line in front of the teller's counter, Alex moaned. She gently rubbed over her proud stomach. Soon they would be there...

"Mike, could you get me chicken with whipped cream?" she asked.

Mike Logan, accompanying her because it was his day off and Bobby had to work, looked at her in shock. "You want to eat that?"

She frowned at him and said, "Yes, chicken with whipped cream."

He lifted his hands in a sign of surrender and said, "Yes, ma'am. What the pregnant lady wants, the pregnant lady gets."

She slapped his shoulder and rested her hand over her belly again.

"I'll get it for you as soon as we're done here," he promised. "You know, I promised Bobby to take care of you... so that's what I'm gonna do."

"You can go, Mike. We'll be okay. It's not as if we're alone here."

"I promised! He'll tear me apart if you go into labor and I'm running off on a hunt for chicken with whipped cream!"

She smiled sweetly at him and patted his chest, saying, "And I'll tear you apart if you don't. Capice?"

"Capice," he murmured reluctantly, more afraid of the five foot four inch hurricane of a woman in front of him. In this instant he spotted the solution for his problem... in the line two counters to the left was Elliot Stabler.

"Hey! Elliot!" he shouted, gesturing him to come over.

Elliot glanced around, then when he saw the source of the noise, walked over to the two Major Case detectives.

"Hey, Logan," he said, shaking Mike's hand. Once he was finished with Mike, he stood in front of Alex and smiled warmly at her. "How are you, Alex?" he asked, and Alex smiled and motioned to her stomach.

"Go ahead, you know you want to," she said, and he grinned and laid his hands on her growing belly. She knew that he loved children, and she didn't mind when people asked her questions or asked to touch her stomach.

Elliot grinned stupidly when he felt the soft flutter against his palm.

"Twins?" he asked, regarding her unusually large middle. "I have twins. It's an adventure."

She nodded somewhat nervously.

"I thought Bobby was going to pass out in the doctor's office when we got the news. But after that, he couldn't stop talking about twins this, and twins that."

Elliot nodded understandingly. "I remember when my ex wife was pregnant with our twins. It was twice the work, but it was also twice the hugs, kisses, and 'I love you, Daddies.'" He ran his thumb along her stomach, then said, "Do you know what the sexes are?"

"Um..." Mike mumbled. "Elliot, Alex asked me to get her something to eat... could you stay with her while I'm gone?"

"Go ahead," Elliot replied without to even glance at him. He was totally marveling in the touch and talk with Alex.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Mike frowned. Neither of them would notice if he were to blow up right beside them now... so he turned and left the bank.

"We decided not to ask," Alex answered Elliot's inquiry. "It's gonna be a surprise. The main thing is that they're healthy."

He smiled and reluctantly took his hands away, then reached into his pocket. "These are... my kids," he said, producing a wallet that contained several pictures. "Maureen's the oldest, then Kathleen, and Lizzie and Dickie."

She admired the pictures, then pointed to one of a bright blue eyed baby smiling toothlessly at the camera. "Who's that?" she asked, and he grinned.

"My son, Elliot Jr. He's mine and Olivia's."

"He's a cute little fellow," Alex said. "I hope that they'll have Bobby's eyes. I love his eyes. They're a perfect shade of chocolate, and they're as mesmerizing as yours."

Elliot laughed softly at this compliment.

"They all are my pride and joy. I'm lucky that Olivia also has a very good relationship with Kathy." His smile became a mischievous grin. "You'll see... nothing will make you happier than these kids."

"They already do," Alex smiled warmly, caressing her belly. When she looked up again, her view went past Elliot to a man standing at a pillar across the room. Her cop mode kicked in, and she frowned.

"What's wrong?" Elliot asked.

"That guy there," she nodded towards the man. "He looks suspicious."

"Suspicious?"

A split second later, another man at the door pulled out a machine gun and fired a shot in the ceiling.

"Everybody, get down!" the man shouted.

Once he realized that they were unnoticed, Elliot slipped his arm around Alex and guided her behind another pillar. It was all she could do to keep from screaming, and the desperation in her eyes reminded Elliot of the dire circumstances that his own twins had been born under.

"Alex, just relax," he whispered, his eyes flitting between her and the gunman.

"Where do you think you're going?" a man snarled, appearing beside Elliot and Alex behind the pillar. He pressed the muzzle of his shotgun against Elliot's temple. "Go back to the others," the man growled. "It'll be better for you."

The detective froze, an icy lump forming in his gut. He grabbed Alex's arm gently and stepped in front of her, using himself as a shield to protect her. Swallowing his fear he asked, "You see that she's pregnant, right?"

"Yeah, I see," the man answered condescendingly. "Now go back and get down on the ground."

Reluctantly they followed his order and joined the group of frightened people on the floor. Elliot helped Alex to toe floor down near one counter and to rest her back against it. Her heart was pounding furiously against her ribcage as the severity of the situation sank in.

"You okay?" Elliot asked as she attempted to make herself comfortable against the counter.

"No," she sniffed, wishing that Bobby was there with her.

"Shh… They'll take the money and go. We'll all be okay," he murmured, resting his hand over hers. She laid her hand over her stomach and flinched, and the move didn't escape his eye. He turned to face her, concern etched in his features. "Alex, are you having contractions…?" he asked softly, and she looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"I'm… not sure…" she mumbled.

Behind him he heard a commotion, and someone shrieked. When he turned he saw a young man attacking one of the robbers.

It was a reflex that made Elliot move. He launched himself at the boy, to bring him down before he could put any of the others at risk. They crashed to the floor, a jumble of arms and legs. Elliot managed to pin the young boy to the ground.

"What the hell?" the teenager roared. "Get off of me!"

"He better not!" one man shouted, hitting Elliot in the back of his head with the butt of his shotgun, instantly knocking him out. "He just saved your life!"

The man stood over the boy menacingly, pointing the shotgun at the boy's forehead.

"Move your scrawny ass back to the rest of them, and don't move," the man snarled.

"But…"

"Keep talking, and you'll get a bullet right between your eyes. Now move!" the man shouted, waving the gun.

So the boy pushed Elliot's dead weight off of himself. As he did, Elliot's jacked slid to the side to reveal the holster with his service piece on his left hip. The boy's eyes widened when he touched it. The man over him tightened his finger over the trigger menacingly.

"Go!"

So the boy reluctantly moved away and joined the group of frightened people.

"And what do we have here?" he asked, bowing down to get Elliot's weapon out of the holster. "Fine gun."

The robber put his booted foot under Elliot's shoulder and pushed to turn him on his back. Then he sat down on his hip, pinning him down, even as he still was unconscious. The man patted down Elliot's body, careful not to miss anything.

Alex held her breath as she saw the man reach into Elliot's inner jacket pocket and produced a dark leather wallet.

_Oh God, no. No, _Alex thought desperately, biting her lip to keep from crying out as another pain shot through her abdomen.

The man whistled through his teeth as he opened the wallet and examined the detective's gold shield, turning it over in his hand.

xxx

When Mike stepped to the counter of the diner and ordered Alex's lunch, the woman first looked at him with amusement. Then she grinned and asked, "Your wife's expecting a baby?"

"Yeah," he said as he grinned lopsidedly.

"I'll get you the whipped cream," she said, winking at him.

With some amusement Mike noticed that all the women around him smiled knowingly and looked at him with mild admiration. He grinned.

Let them believe I'm the father, he thought. Doesn't hurt.

"Here you go," the cashier said as she handed him a Styrofoam box. "And here's the whipped cream."

"Thanks," he said, handing her the cash. He picked up both and turned to leave.

He was coming out of the Standard Diner with Alex's lunch in his hand when he heard the sirens wailing. He looked around, and a knot formed in his stomach when he saw several police cars speeding around the corner of the street.

He watched them, and his heartbeat pounded in his ears as he thought, Please don't go to the bank. Please...

His heart dropped to his feet as he watched the police cars skid into the parking lot of the bank, and he dropped the lunch and sprinted to the bank, praying to a God that he didn't believe in that Alex was unharmed.

xxx

Olivia Stabler sighed as she picked up her son in her arms, rocking him gently to quell his screams. Finally he calmed down, and she sat down on the couch and said, "Well, that's better, huh?"

The baby gurgled and smiled up at her, and she began bouncing him gently. As he laughed, she smiled and wondered if Elliot had been such a happy baby. A knock at the door disrupted her thoughts, and she rose to her feet and walked over to the door. She opened the door, and Maureen smiled at her. "Hey, Olivia."

"Hey, Maureen," Olivia greeted her stepdaughter. Maureen smiled at her, then turned to her little brother.

"Hey, sweetheart," she cooed at the baby, and Olivia offered him to her. She took the baby into her arms gladly, and they walked into the kitchen. Maureen looked around the house, then asked, "Hey, Liv? Where's my dad?"

Olivia paused, then said, "He had to go run a few errands, but he should be back soon. You want to hang out until he gets back?"

Maureen smiled warmly at her and said, "Sure, Liv."

"So, what's dad doing for you for your anniversary?" Maureen grinned as she sat cross legged on the floor and held her brother's hands as he attempted to take a few wobbly steps. Olivia smiled and leaned back against the couch, crossing her legs beneath her.

"I don't know, Maur. He won't tell me."

Maureen was laughing softly, catching EJ as he dropped forward. "Sure he won't... I really wonder where he is so long." She got out her cell phone. "I'll call him."

Maureen placed EJ in her lap, then pulled her cell phone out, dialing her father's cell phone. She hit enter, then waited as it rang once, twice. With each ring, her dread grew, and when she received his voicemail, she closed the phone and looked at Olivia. "He's not answering," she said in a small voice, and a frown creased Olivia's forehead.

"I'm sure he's fine," Olivia said confidently, picking up her son. But in the back of her mind, she wasn't nearly as confident as she sounded.

* * *

tbc... 


	2. Chapter 2

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER and Obsessedwithstabler

Same ole song: don't own anything!

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, all of them, the ones for the first post on _Obsessedwithstabler's_ account as well as on mine. Thanks for beta-reading, _JO_. Enjoy. :D

**Ch 2**

"He's a cop, Red!" the man sitting on Elliot yelled.

"I don't give a damn!" Red snarled, keeping the gun trained on the group of terrified innocents. "We get the money and get the hell out of here in no time!"

A split second later, sirens were wailing and tires squealing.

"What the hell?" Red peeked through the blinds. "The damned pigs!" Turning to the tellers who were handing over the cash, he roared, "Who pushed the fucking panic button?"

No one was brave enough to answer. Not a person among them was fond of the idea of getting a bullet in the brain.

He glared at the tellers, then snarled, "Get out of there! Now!" He waved the gun at them to emphasize his words, and the terrified tellers looked at each others. Too afraid to tempt fate and the crazed gunman, the two women and one man rushed out from behind the counters and threw themselves to the ground beside the others.

Alex's heart was pounding furiously against her ribcage as she tried to ignore the pain that started deep in her lower back. When she had first felt it, she hoped that it was false labor, like when she had been pregnant with her nephew. But as time ticked by, she realized that they were intensifying, and that it was not false labor.

She tried to ignore them, but they only grew more intense and more painful. And she knew that the only way to stop them was to deliver the babies. But she knew it could take some time.

She stared at Elliot's unconscious form, willing him to awaken. She could see a small puddle of blood trickling from under his head, and she wondered how badly he had been injured.

The man who was sitting on Elliot's chest looked at her. "Your cop husband sure can take it," he sneered.

_My husband?_ For a moment Alex was confused. Then she realized that the robber thought Elliot was her husband, since he had tried to protect her earlier.

"Well, he sure earned himself one hell of a headache!" he grinned, and Alex swallowed thickly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement, and she realized that Elliot was coming to.

xxx

The parking lot was already filled with police cars and an ambulance when Mike approached the bank. He quickly found an officer, and he stormed up to him.

"Detective Mike Logan!" Mike yelled, flashing his badge at the officer. "What happened?"

"Bank robbery," the uniformed sergeant replied. "Someone inside pushed the panic button."

His words nearly stopped Mike's heart, and he scrambled desperately to form a response.

"My friend's wife is in there," he finally choked out. "She's pregnant!"

"I'm sor…"

The cop's apology was interrupted by a round of bullets one of the gunmen fired out of the front door of the bank. As the bullets rained, everyone dove for cover.

"Get the hell away from here!" the man yelled from the front door of the bank. The cops stared at him, but before anyone could get a shot off, he disappeared back into the building.

_God! Alex! Bobby's gonna kill me!_ Mike thought. _He's gonna kill me!_

"Turner!" the sergeant called for another cop. "Call the hostage negotiator!"

"We can't sit here and do nothing!" Mike screamed as he realized that they were going to try and negotiate with the sons of bitches. "Why can't we get them out now?"

In the same instant he realized how ridiculous he sounded. They had no idea of the situation. How many men were in the bank? How many hostages? How were the men armed? Was someone injured?

"Someone reported an earlier shooting," another officer said to Mike and sergeant Tippe.

_An earlier shooting?_ Mike's heart pounded wildly. _Oh my God._

"You have any more information about what's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tippe replied.

Mike was sick to his stomach. Somewhere in his troubled mind an alarm was ringing. Call him, it said, call him at once. So Mike got up and made a few steps aside, then got out his cell phone and speed dialed Bobby's cell phone number.

"Goren," he answered after the second ring.

"Bobby?" Mike asked and could have kicked himself for how insecure he sounded.

"You called my cell, so who else should it be?" Bobby replied. "What's up?"

"Um, Bobby…"

"What?" he interrupted Mike. He clearly could hear the other man's impatience. "Is she going into labor?"

"Um, no," Mike said. "She… I mean… have you…?"

"Mike! For God's sake! Just tell me!" Bobby became annoyed.

"We… we were… at the bank on…"

Mike could not say more. He did not have to.

Bobby just heard his friend's stuttering, the word bank and drew the right conclusion. He had heard about the robbery on police radio and already had a dull feeling in his gut.

Mike did not know about that, but he heard the distinct click of the connection being cut as Bobby snapped his phone shut.

_Oh, shit_, Mike thought. _I'm in trouble._

Suddenly he started to shiver as realization finally sank in and made his insides churn. He did not know what to do other than to call the one person he truly relied on.

xxx

With some difficulty Elliot fought his way back to consciousness. His head was spinning and he felt sick to the stomach. Right at that moment he did not know what had happened, he just knew that he felt like crap.

For a moment he just lay there on his back, trying to stop the spinning. He groaned. Then he finally tried to open his eyes.

In the same instant something bore into the hollow under his chin. Something hard and cold.

His eyes flew open as he realized that it was the barrel of a gun. Instinctively he tried to escape, just to notice that his body was pinned to the floor by a weight on his pelvis. It pressed on his stomach, too, and made him choke.

Still he did not fully realize what was going on. So panic hit him. He groaned and tried to get away. His eyes darted to the ceiling and to the sides, taking in with surprise his surroundings.

His wriggling was stopped dead, when the pressure of the gun increased.

"Stop it, pig," someone hissed.

"Elliot!" Alex said in the same instant, pleadingly.

Elliot froze. With Alex' voice memories flooded back. Now he knew where he was. This was one of the bank robbers. He choked.

"Elliot!" the man mocked. He laughed. "So we have a cop in here. What a pleasure."

Whatever he might say, it might be wrong, so Elliot remained silent.

"You don't want to talk to me?"

Elliot just grunted. Speaking was not so easy with the gun under his chin.

"Answer me!" the man spat.

"I do… just…"

Alex watched with a rock in her stomach, her heart pounding. They were trapped, she was in labor, and there was nothing she could do that wouldn't endanger hers, Elliot's, or the other innocents' lives.

Elliot watched the cold, empty eyes of the man who was sitting on his chest now, making it difficult for him to breathe. The man pressed the cold barrel of the gun further into Elliot's neck, and he saw white spots in front of him.

"Just what?" the man pushed.

"Just... don't... hurt anyone," Elliot croaked.

"We won't... as long as no one's trying something stupid."

With that he did not only press harder with the gun again, he also let his view wander over the people on the floor, finally letting it rest on the boy, who had tried to attack them earlier. Then he turned his attention back to Elliot.

"That was a brave thing to do," he snickered. "Stupid, but brave."

Elliot needed a moment to realize what he was talking about.

"I... I didn't mean... to attack you," he managed to say. The pressure on his body and neck made him a bit dizzy. "I... he didn't know... what he's doing. I... wanted to keep someone from getting... shot."

The man laughed cruelly, sending shivers down Alex's spine. Suddenly she jumped, and the man looked at her suspiciously, then returned his attention to Elliot. Alex tried to calm herself down and not draw any more attention to herself as her phone continued to vibrate against her hip. She glanced around, then inconspicuously reached into the pocket of her jeans and began pressing buttons. Luckily she had learned to text message without looking, because Bobby had been so certain that it would come in handy one day.

_Just in case,_ he had insisted when she had laughed at his suggestion. Now she was thanking God that she now had a chance to escape.

"You'll keep quiet from now on!" the man snarled. "The only time I want to hear your voice is when I ask you something. The only time I want to see you move is when I'm telling you to. Got that?"

"Got it," Elliot replied. God, his back hurt!

"Don't move." With that the man got up and put Elliot's gun into his waistband. Then he bowed down to turn him on his stomach. Patting his back he found the cuffs, got them out and put them on.

The detective grimaced when they bit in his wrists. He just could keep himself from groaning. He would not give them this satisfaction.

In the meantime Alex was typing unnoticed: 4 men, 1MG, 1shotgun, 3 pistols, El uncovered.

Another contraction shook her body. She could not help but moaning as the pain slowly subsided. When she could clearly see again she glanced around secretively and typed: 19 hostages, at the counters, none ser. injured.

Elliot was pulled up and shoved over to one pillar.

"You'll stay right here," the man ordered. "Don't move."

So Elliot did not move. That was not an easy task because now standing his vision became blurred. He felt dizzy.

"Sit," the bank robber ordered, pushing an office chair behind Elliot who dropped down in it. Then the man grabbed a cable, cut it off at a good length and bowed to Elliot's legs to tie the ankles.

"So, that's okay. Now I feel better," the man snickered. His gaze drifted over to Alex and back to Elliot. "Keep cool and maybe we'll all get home for the late night news."

xxx

Mike was pacing back and forth behind one of the cars when a blue clad blur ran up to him, and he felt himself being swept up in her embrace.

"Thank God," Carolyn murmured as she held him tightly, and Mike allowed himself a moment of open weakness as he buried his face in her dark hair.

He felt her arms go around his waist, and he rested against her warm body. After a moment, Carolyn pulled away and held him at arm's length as her chocolate eyes carefully scanned his body. When she was satisfied that he was uninjured, she allowed her hand to travel up and run gently through his hair.

"I was... so afraid that you were in there," she murmured, and he shook his head. She looked around. "Now where is Alex?"

"Alex… she... I told you on the phone… she asked me to get her something to eat."

Caro did not remember him telling her about Alex. She just could think of him. That caused her enough worry.

"And you left her?" Caro now asked incredulously, her voice breaking, as she realized that he just had told her that Alex still was inside.

"I went, but she's not alone... Elliot Stabler is with her... we, we met him in there."

"Elliot? Oh my God! Has someone called Olivia?"

"I already called her," John Munch announced as he approached them, and Carolyn allowed her hands to fall to her sides. "I was with him today, because Olivia's off, taking care of the baby. When he didn't return and I saw the patrol cars, I called her."

"God, poor Olivia," Caro breathed. "Hope they're alright in there."

"We won't know before the negotiator makes contact," Munch murmured. "Or the SWAT team starts to prepare its operation."

A strangled voice caught the attention of the three, and Mike swiveled his head in time to see a furious Bobby Goren lumbering toward the three. Carolyn saw his fists clenched and the blood lust in his eyes, and she immediately stepped between the men, her only thought being to protect her partner.

She was roughly shoved to the side with just one move of Bobby's arm. Then a fist closed mercilessly around Mike's throat and drove him backwards until he crashed against a parked car and was thrown over the hood.

"For your sake I hope that you have the perfect excuse," Bobby snarled, his face just an inch away from Mike's. "Cause otherwise you'll go to hell for this!"

"Chicken with whipped cream," Mike croaked.

Confusion wiped the rage from Bobby's expression. "What?"

"She… as…crr…" Halfway suffocated, Mike could not talk. When Bobby noticed it, he loosened his grip a bit so that Mike could breathe.

"She… she asked me… to get her chicken with whipped cream," Mike coughed.

"And you just left?" Bobby roared, his fury returning. "How could you leave her? You know the babies are just about to come! You were supposed to look after her!" Automatically his fist closed again so that Mike could not get a single tone out.

"Bobby!" Caro yelled. "Bobby! She's not alone." She did not know if her words reached him. "Bobby! Elliot is with her in the bank! You hear me? Elliot is in there!"

Bobby felt hands on his arms and shoulders that tried to pull him away from Mike and he fought them.

"Bobby! C'mon, buddy. Let go," Munch joined Caro's reasoning. "Elliot will protect Alex. C'mon."

Then, vaguely, he heard Caro and Munch's voices through his inner turmoil, and finally he let go. He straightened up, breathing hard, staring at Mike as if he still wanted to kill him.

Hesitantly Mike propped himself up on the hood, then stood. He never lost sight of Bobby who still glowered at him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Alex threatened me if I wouldn't go and get the chicken… and when Elliot joined us, I asked him to stay with her. I mean… if I'd had any idea what would happen…"

Mike could not complete the sentence, stopped by a fist. Backwards he went down right into the arms of his partner.

Everyone stared incredulously at the brunette woman towering over Mike.

"Thanks for calling," Olivia spat.

* * *

tbc… 


	3. Chapter 3

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it took me so long to get the new chapter written. :D Enjoy. :D 

**Ch 3**

"I'm sorry, Carolyn," Bobby breathed. "I didn't mean to shove so hard. It was the panic.. I… you… I…"

"Sssh, Bobby. It's okay. I know." She held up her hand to stop him from further arguing.

"I'm not sorry," Olivia snapped. "You could have called me. You know that he's in there, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Mike mumbled, disentangling himself from Carolyn's arms.

"He's a big boy, Olivia," Munch said. "He can take care of himself."

"I heard on the radio that there've been shots!" she yelled. "He could be injured! He can be dead by now!"

They all knew she could be right, and that scared them.

A cell phone rang. "Oh!" Bobby gasped when he saw the caller ID who sent him a text message. His eyes widened as he read it.

"Elliot is okay," he said. "No one's seriously injured."

"How do you…?" Olivia stepped over to him, peeking at his phone. "Four men," she read. "One MG, one shotgun, three pistols, El uncovered…" Her breath hitched in her throat. "Nineteen hostages, at the counters, none seriously injured, contractions…" her voice trailed off again. She stared at Bobby. Color drained from his face again, his expression stern, worry glowing in his dark chocolate eyes. "How far along is she?"

"Already due to give birth. As she's carrying twins…" His voice was uncharacteristically low. "Oh my God. She can't give birth in there. She's all alone. She…"

"She's not alone," Olivia said, laying one hand on his forearm. "Elliot is in there. He knows about babies. He's helped to deliver six of them."

"Really?" Bobby did not look convinced.

"Really. He helped delivering his own five kids and one all alone when he and Fin tried to rescue a kidnapping victim."

"Tried to save the mother?" Bobby's sharp mind, even stirred up with fear for his wife, caught exactly what she said. "What happened to the baby?!"

"You're right, the woman died. She already had lost too much blood before they could find her. Still he could save her child. It's a lovely kid."

"If anyone can help her, then it's Elliot," Munch confirmed. "He won't let anything happen to her."

_He's uncovered,_ Bobby thought. He wanted to believe the encouraging words of his colleagues, but he knew that the situation was still unstable. Someone had to talk with the bank robbers. His gaze fell on Mike who leaned against the car again. Before he could say anything Mike warded his words off with a gesture.

"You're scared for her. Don't worry about me. At least you didn't kill me… that would piss me off."

The cops chuckled.

"Guess what that would do to me!" Carolyn added. "I'd be royally pissed!"

Mike was laughing about her expression as she said that. She looked totally honest, ready to fight with everyone who tried to get at him, like a lioness protecting her cubs.

"Thank you, Caro. That means the world to me."

A small secretive smile touched her lips. Mike missed it, but Bobby was alarmed. He knew that smile from Alex and suspected at once that Mike would be in for the surprise of his life.

Once more his cell phone rang.

"It's Alex again," he said and activated the phone, just holding it up against his ear not daring to talk in case that the sound might give her away.

xxx

Once she had hit _send_ on the phone she made a call… and pushed the small device under the counter she was leaning against.

From the depths of her spine she felt a pain creep up and ripple through her body. She tried desperately to ignore it, but it was impossible. There was no turning back. Her labor had started and now she had to go through with it… come what may.

"Okay!" one of the men bellowed. "Put everything in this bag, jewelry, purses and phones! C'mon."

With that he went through the group cowering on the floor to collect everything valuable or useful.

"What's that?" he growled, pointing at a locket. "Put it in here."

The woman wearing it recoiled even more. "Please. It's not very valuable and it's all I have left of my husband. He died in the Twin Towers."

"As did my cousin. Give me the thing or I'll take it."

Tears shot out of her green eyes as she tried to fumble the chain open. "Please."

"Spare me the shit!" He rustled with the bag and she let it drop in.

When he stepped in front of Alex she was already trying her best with her wedding ring. Then a new contraction hit her and she gasped.

"C'mon!"

"It doesn't come off," she said. "I'm so big because I'm pregnant. It doesn't come off."

He frowned at her, but it was obviously the truth.

"Then keep it for God's sake. Give me your phone, though."

"I don't have a phone. I left it at home," Alex said, trying to sound like a bit of a space cadet. "My midwife says it's not good for the baby." _It was microwaves, right? She'd heard Bobby mention something about that from some article he'd been reading in Smithsonian Magazine a few weeks ago. _Inwardly she chuckled. _What did this guy we once interviewed say? That he'd be one of five guys who read this? And Bobby told him to make it six!__ Oh my, Bobby, you wanted so much to be here when the twins came. Now you won't get that chance. I'll be very lucky if I get to a hospital in time to give birth. I hope that I don't have to have them here_.

The man frowned but he backed off a bit.

"Okay. Keep quiet."

"I'm into… labor," Alex grunted. "I might not be able to keep quiet."

"You will… or this kid will be _stillborn_." The way he said that made the threat clear.

"You ever witnessed a birth?" Elliot blurted out incredulously. "She won't be able to…"

He was stopped by a hard slap across the face.

"I told you not to talk!"

The impact of the blow almost threw Elliot off the chair. With his bound feet he could hardly keep his balance.

"Next time you do, your wife will regret it."

Elliot glared up at him, but did not dare to talk.

Alex saw it with worry. Elliot had quite a reputation for acting on impulse. So she noticed with grim admiration that he remained quiet, but wondered at the same time how long he would be able to keep it up.

"You think she's his wife, Green?" another man snickered.

"Yeah… why?"

The man approached just a bit. "I know her," he said.

"Huh? How do you know her? From where?"

"Seen her on the news."

"What news?" Green, who had hit Elliot, sounded confused.

"Television. She's a cop, too, but she's with Major Case."

"Whoa!" Green's gun came up, aiming at Alex.

Elliot cleared his throat… and the weapon swung around to be trained on him.

_I didn't speak!_ he thought, staring into the muzzle. It was only inches away from his head.

"You're right," Alex said. "I was a cop."

At once the gun was directed on her again.

"You were?" Green asked suspiciously.

"Yeeeaaah…" Alex's answer came strained. The pain did not quite subside once a contraction was over. "I left when the doctor said I was having twins this time."

"Twins?"

"Right." Now her voice took on a hint of annoyance. She noticed it at once and tried to play it down. The last thing she should do was to provoke the bank robbers. "And I'm in labor, so I won't be… any… daaaangeer… for you."

Grimacing Elliot watched her. He knew the signs. He knew them all too well. It would not take too long until the babies would come.

The bank robbers looked at each other, then Red spoke, "Is there anyone here who could help her?"

_I could,_ Elliot thought. He let his gaze wander over the group on the floor. No one reacted to the bad guy's request. Some looked at Alex and then stared at the tiles again.

"No doctor? A nurse? Someone?" Red asked incredulously.

Some shook their heads, others seemed to shrink under his stare.

So Elliot cleared his throat again. Green raised his gun, ready to hit him, but Red stopped him, "What do you want?"

"I could help her," Elliot said. "I helped to deliver my own kids, so… but she still needs a doctor. It would be better if you could let her go. They'll take her to a hospital."

"No one's leaving." Now Red became angry, too. With his gun he gestured at Elliot. "When it comes to it, you'll help her."

Elliot nodded, not daring to speak.

That was when a phone rang. It had to be one of the bank's. Its ringing was loud and shrill and got on the people's nerves. Green raised his gun, aimed…

xxx

They were standing in the mobile control centre of the S.W.A.T team.

Sergeant Tippe was talking with the lieutenant in charge of them, telling him everything they knew so far about the bank robbers.

Bobby was with them, his cell phone already connected with some of their equipment, so that they could hear what was going on over there in the bank.

The door of the truck opened and a lean guy in a dark green cord suit climbed in.

"Okay, Tippe," he said. "What do we have?"

"Hey, Jaenicke," the sergeant replied. "Four men, stormed into the bank to get the money, took hostages when they noticed that they couldn't get out again."

"Any more information?"

Tippe repeated what Alex had been sending by text message and the hostage negotiator nodded thoughtfully.

"I'll try to make contact," Jaenicke said. "The status of the S.W.A.T. team?"

"We're working on getting more detailed information. We cut the power supply and took over the air conditioning. Direct phone connection's up."

"Okay. Keep the team on standby. I'll call them."

Bobby looked at him nervously, forcing himself to remain standing in the corner. He wanted to get rid of his surplus energy, but the truck filled with technical equipment was just too stuffed for him to pace.

Jaenicke put on a headset and settled in front of the equipment.

"When will we get the cameras?"

"Soon," lieutenant DiSalvo told him. "Cross and McLeod will plant them."

"Okay."

So Jaenicke pressed a button to call. Over Bobby's cell phone they could hear the phone over in the bank ring. At first everything remained silent…

…and then a shot thundered out of the speakers.

Everyone froze in place.

"Oh, my God!" Bobby choked. "Alex."

"They shot the damned phone!" Mike gasped.

tbc…


	4. Chapter 4

**In a Flash**

a LO:CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: I finally was kind of pushed back into the story. LOL So here is the new chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing. :D Happy New Year!

**Ch ****4**

"Whoa!" Jaenicke jumped in his chair, pulling the headphone off and throwing it on the table. "Damn!"

Shocked the other cops stared at him. An upset negotiator was not a good sign.

_That might be an understatement,_ Bobby thought. His insides constricted with the thought that they still did not know what was going on and if everyone still was in good health. So far they just knew that someone shot. They did not know if someone was injured. His fear for Alex and their twins corded up his throat.

Everyone concentrated on the cell phone, their sole connection to the bank. Screams sounded out of the speakers, yells of the men who held the people at gunpoint.

Mike grimaced remorsefully. So Bobby went the few steps over to him and squeezed his shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Mike," he murmured, barely able to control his voice. "I know how Alex can be. She was intent on getting that chicken and she wouldn't have stopped pestering you until you caved in. You left her because you were sure that she'd be okay. No one could know what would happen."

"You're not mad at me?" Almost pleadingly he looked into Bobby's brown eyes.

"I'm mad as can be… but not at you. You had no way to know, you're not a fortune teller."

"Bobby, you know, if I could change it I'd…"

"Stop!"

It was not only that he wanted to quit this discussion. He also wanted to follow the actions of Tippe and Jaenicke. So far they did not do anything than listen.

In the bank the screams continued. Everyone in there was on the edge of losing it. Out of the speakers the cops heard someone bark orders.

One of the monitors flickered, then another. The SWAT members had completed their first task. So the people in the mobile headquarters could not only hear but also see what was happening inside of the bank.

xxx

Alex screamed when the shot hit the phone. She did not even notice that it was her own scream that rang in her ears along with the panicked yells of the other hostages.

Instinctively she ducked, raising her arms to protect her head.

_No! Don't do that!_

That was her first coherent thought. Her insides constricted once more.

_Don't cut the phone connection. The negotiator might be our only way out! Don't be that stupid!_

She could imagine their colleagues gather in the truck with the command center. They would take over control of the air conditioning, would cut the bank's electricity… they would do everything they could to force the men into accepting deals, to get hostages out.

_If Bobby's here yet?_ Alex wondered. _He must be worried sick… and Mike will have to bear his wrath. Bobby will need an outlet for his fear for me and the twins and Mike leaving me in here will be a welcome reason._

In her belly she felt the kids squirm. They were due and sensing the stress of their mother they wanted out. Now.

"Aaaahhh!"

The cramp in her back made her first scream and then pant. Wrapping her arms around her swollen middle she rocked forward and back, trying to get the pain under control. Her spine hurt as did her pelvis. The kids were on their way.

Alex heard more screams and wails coming from the hostages, but she could not concentrate on what they were saying. Her twins kept her busy.

Then, for a moment, she forgot her labor, when she heard Elliot yell, too.

xxx

"What's going on in there?" Mike panted.

Carolyn put her hand on his forearm, trying to reign him in. He would not be of any help if he blew up and got kicked out by Tippe who still was in charge.

All they could hear through the cell phone was a jumble of voices, men and women screaming, yelling. Right then they could not distinguish who was saying what.

Jaenicke had picked up the earphones again, pressing them to his ears to try and make out single voices. The call phone's transmission was not as good as a police microphone would have been so he had to listen hard.

"They should go in now!" Tippe said. "We shouldn't take any risk and take them down! Now!"

"No!" Bobby protested. "You're not serious! You can't send SWAT in right now!"

"Do I have to remind you that you're not in charge here, Detective!" Tippe roared.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Jaenicke glowered at them. "You know what's going to happen if we attack now! We'd cause a massacre!"

_That's what I meant,_ Bobby thought. _If they see one sign of a police officer they're likely to freak and kill the hostages._

Tense silence settled over the truck, the air so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

_God! Please let us make the right decision!_ Carolyn felt chills on her back. She knew Mike was hurting. He felt responsible even though he had no way to foresee what would happen.

"They're debating," Jaenicke said. "We should give them a second chance."

No one responded. Trusting the negotiator's experience, they let him make the decision.

Olivia remained surprisingly silent. After her earlier outbreak she went away with Maureen and EJ to get them to safety. She had to promise Elliot's daughter that she would keep her informed. That was the only way to make her settle down in a diner one block away. Now Olivia stood between the other detectives in the cramped truck, her stomach rumbling when she heard the panicked screams and barked orders of the hostage takers.

As the words were not understandable they only could guess what was said after a look at the monitors. They observed the men herding the people together in front of the counters. The clients and employers all were on the floor.

Bobby choked. He could see Alex. She was curling up, obviously in pain. It hurt him physically that he could not be in there to help her.

Olivia tried not to stare at her husband who was sitting on a chair near the pillars, cuffed, his legs bound. She forced herself to look at the whole scene and tried to predict what the men would do next. Then something else caught her attention.

xxx

Helplessly Elliot could only watch the men. After Green shot the telephone tumult broke out. Red roared at him, his voice barely perceptible in his rage. It was obvious that their leader and Green did not share the same opinion on how to deal with the police.

And that fact held an even greater danger than they already were in.

As the bank robbers started to argue over the shot, seemingly forgetting about the people around them, Elliot looked at Alex. She writhed with pain when another cramp hit her.

Seeing her suffer tore his soul apart. Having been with both his wives when they gave birth to his kids had made him as familiar with the kind of excruciating pain having a child could cause as a man could ever be.

The distraction stirred up the people. Some of them started to talk lowly. Their murmur did not go unnoticed by the gunmen.

"Keep your mouths shut!" Green bellowed, waving his gun at them. "Quiet! And keep your heads down!"

"Shut up yourself!" Red yelled. Stepping up to him he grabbed his jacket, telling him low enough for only him to hear, "And keep your temper!"

Green wound out of Red's grip, backing off of him. His view happened to fall on the teen boy who had tried to attack them earlier and now was about to cause trouble again, sneaking towards the backdoor.

Elliot's blood froze in his veins as he watched the scene enfold. How could he be so stupid? Didn't he realize that he was playing with death? Elliot's whole body yearned to jump up and take the boy down, hitting him hard. He deserved the pain for his lack of common sense. As his muscles tensed, the cuffs and cable bit into his joints.

"Hey! Kid! Where the hell are you going to?" Green shouted, raising his gun.

"No!" Elliot yelled even as he knew that he better kept his mouth shut.

He knew for sure when he saw the weapon trained on him. With two steps Green was beside him again and with a brutal blow with the gun against his head he threw him off the chair.

"Ugh!" Elliot groaned as he hit the floor, unable to catch his fall with his bound arms. Now he was in real trouble. Fear grabbed for his insides with an icy hand. Swallowing hard he fought not to let it show. Groaning again with pain he tried to shift his position.

He was stopped by a foot which shoved him on his back. Green towered over him, the gun aiming at his head.

Staring into the barrel, Elliot knew that his time was running out.

xxx

"No!" Olivia yelled.

She jumped forward, Munch grabbing her shoulders to hold her back because she was about to crawl into the monitor.

"God! Nooo!"

Jaenicke's hand flashed to the radio, ready to give SWAT the order to intervene.

They all stared at the monitor, tense, some of them entangled in each other arms, one stopping the other from tearing the equipment apart trying to get a better view.

"Do something!" Olivia demanded. "Get them out of there!"

"Just a second!" Jaenicke replied, putting his hand on hers, squeezing lightly.

"Yeah, a second…" Bobby mumbled. He had seen what the negotiator had spotted. Red was heading towards Green, shouting and gesticulating. It looked as if he was trying to stop his accomplice.

They were discussing. The atmosphere still was tense. People murmuring, the other hostage takers trying to shut them up.

"Oh, man!" Munch gasped. "Wish we could understand them better. It's still a jumble."

"Then I suggest that you'll keep quiet!" Jaenicke snapped. "Then I can listen better."

Munch frowned but backed off again. He still had one arm around Olivia's shoulders. Now she was leaning against him, seeking comfort. Mike held Carolyn in his arms and Bobby stood right next to them, not even feeling Carolyn's hand on his shoulder.

_I have to get you out of there! God! Why did that have to happen? Why?!_ He quarreled with their destiny. There was no doubt that Alex was about to have the twins. _What a nightmare! What happened to our plans? You waking me in the wee small ours to drive you to the hospital. You giving me lectures while squeezing my hand in agony when you're in the delivery room. You and me sitting together with our newborns in our arms?_

A silent tear trickled down his cheek. It was a tear of pain, rage and mourning. His common sense told him that it was the best he could do to stay here in the command center. His heart spoke a different language. He wanted to be with Alex, no matter where she was or in which situation she was. The men with the guns were secondary. For him only Alex and their twins were important.

Having to watch helplessly did not suit him well. He wanted to do something for the hostages. He believed that he would be able to talk the men into surrender… he had done that before. But this time it was not his job. Jaenicke was the negotiator. He, Bobby, could only make suggestions… which the other man was not bound to accept.

With heavy heart and a rumbling stomach he watched how both men, Red and Green, turned at Elliot.

xxx

Still trying not to shudder with the fear he certainly felt when he stared up into the barrel, Elliot lay on his back, his bound arms trapped under him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed movement to his left and when he squinted at it he saw the boy crawl back to the group. Squinting at his right, Elliot saw Alex, curled up, her arms wrapped around her swollen body. She was rocking forward and back, trying to ease the pain, her jaws clenched.

Elliot's muscles were hard. He was about to get a cramp, too, just not in his stomach but in his limbs. Desperately he tried to stop his bottom lip from quivering, but it did not work.

_Ooooh, shit,_ he thought. _Why did that have to happen? I want out of here!_

Green bowed forward, the gun approaching. It touched Elliot's forehead, the muzzle pressing into the skin.

What the men were talking about was beyond him right then. All he could think about was the weapon pushed into his face, Alex in labor and a bunch of hostages.

It made him physically sick.

_Dammit! I have to do… something! Just what?! God! Help me!_

His prayer was not answered. Finally the group of hostages fell silent. Someone was sniffling, but they did not talk anymore. Above him Green and Red were still discussing. Still the muzzle bore into his skin, promising death.

"What do you wanna do?" Green asked heatedly. "Pamper him?"

"No! I just don't wanna shoot him, either. We shouldn't kill a cop… any cop… unless we have to defend ourselves."

"They sure as hell will try to get in here!"

"They won't… as long as we have the hostages." Red grinned wickedly. "One should be especially interested in our escape."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"Her husband, the major case detective. I wanna talk to her husband," Red nodded towards Alex. "He's our way out."

tbc…


	5. Chapter 5

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. :) It's encouraging to know that you are following the story. Thanks for noticing the homage to _The Taking Of Pelham 123_. ;)

**Ch ****5**

Worriedly Jaenicke glanced over his shoulder, back at Bobby. He did not like that a bit. Even if the detective was qualified to negotiate… their commanding officers would never give permission.

_Okay… so far along the official channels… if it's the only way to keep the hostages safe they might do it._

And Bobby stared at the monitor wordless, his face a blank mask, not giving away anything of his emotions. _He's our way out._ This sentence echoed in his mind. He wished to be able to help, but that was not his decision to make.

The van's door opened and captain Deakins climbed in. The mobile headquarters really became overcrowded.

"Captain?" Sergeant Tippe addressed him. "We can handle the situation. We don't…"

"One of my detectives is in there," Deakins cut him off. "Jaenicke, are you already in touch with them?"

"We called once… and one of them shot the phone," the negotiator had to admit. "But I think that they'll respond the next time."

"Why?"

"Surveillance is up and we saw them discuss with each other. The one I presume to be the leader admonished the one who shot the phone. That's why I think that he's prepared to talk. Detective Eames sent us a message. We know that no one is seriously injured so far. We want to keep it that way."

"Of course you do," Deakins agreed. "Good. Do what you've planned."

Behind his back Tippe looked sour. He was about to lose command to the major case captain.

"They're going to the phone," Bobby threw in.

And really. On the monitor they could watch how three people went to the next phone on the counter.

xxx

Elliot had no reason to be relieved when the pressure of the gun vanished. Still he could hear the men discuss and saw them gesticulate. Red seemed to be set on his decision to talk with detective Goren and Green did not like that one bit.

Once Green backed off Red grabbed the lapels of Elliot's jacket and pulled him up into a sitting position. Bowing down his face was only inches away from the detective's. In his hand he held a big serrated knife now.

Elliot saw reflections dancing on its blade just before Red put it against his throat.

"Just because I didn't want Green to kill you doesn't mean that I'm your friend. Clear?"

"Crystal," Elliot croaked.

"You'll do as you're told!"

"Yeah."

"Because if you don't, _detective_, you're dead… faster than you can say _ooops_. Got that?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Red sneered.

He let go of Elliot who dropped back down on the floor. Then he grabbed his legs and shoved the knife under the telephone cable binding the ankles. With one quick cut it was gone.

"You better behave," Red snarled as he took Elliot by his jacket again and yanked him to his feet.

_I will. _Now Elliot felt a gun under his chin and he had to bend his head back.

"Answer me!"

"I will behave," Elliot groaned.

"Good." Red drew him a bit closer.

Elliot had to squint to look at his captor but did not keep it up. _What do you want? Stop playing, okay. Just let me help Alex._

"You're gonna talk with the negotiator. You'll tell him that you'll only talk with detective Goren. You won't talk about anything else. You'll just tell him that."

"They'll be on edge out there. They heard the shots," Elliot dared to say. "I should tell them that no one's seriously injured, that the hostages are okay."

For a few seconds Red remained silent, thinking.

"You can tell them that. But don't talk about us."

"Okay," was all Elliot said. He did not want to get into more trouble if he could help it. He had been too close to being shot to risk anything right now.

"I'll be right behind you," Red snarled. "So don't do anything stupid. You'll just say what I'm telling you."

"Sure," Elliot grumbled.

"Good."

Keeping the muzzle under Elliot's chin Red shoved him over to the counter. Green was close behind them.

"I'm surprised that it isn't already ringing again," Red said. "Tell me what they'll do."

"I guess that they have a direct line to the bank by now," Elliot explained. "Usually you just have to pick up the phone and you're connected with the negotiator."

"What else will they do? If they're trying to get in, who will that be?" Red pressed.

"A SWAT team, six men armed to the teeth. If they have to go in it's just about the hostages… and more cops will follow them."

"About the hostages…" Red grumbled.

"If SWAT intervenes they go in to save the hostages."

Green snickered. "He tries not to tell you that they'd shoot to kill us. We'd be their primary targets." Leaning forward he hissed into Elliot's ear, "Why don't you admit that you want us dead?"

Elliot did not hesitate for a second. "Because I don't want you to get shot."

"Liar!" Green spat.

"I'm not lying."

That was when the phone rang.

xxx

Jaenicke had not been able to understand everything the bank robbers were talking about, but it was enough for him to understand that they intended on making Elliot their representative. When Bobby had said that they were going to the phone he had seen them shoving the detective to the counter.

The negotiator sighed. That would be difficult.

Still he adjusted his headphones and pressed the button that activated the direct connection and the phone in the bank rang. He saw Elliot grimace. The man holding the gun to his head was talking to him. Then the other man pressed a button on the phone.

"Yeah?" Elliot said.

"This is Lieutenant Jaenicke speaking," the negotiator replied. "Who am I talking to?"

There was a moment of hesitation then he heard his answer, "Detective Elliot Stabler."

Behind Jaenicke Olivia gasped when she heard his voice. Intently Deakins looked at her and she backed off a bit.

"My first name is Douglas… may I call you Elliot?" Aside from his question he noticed that the men had activated the speaker phone. They could hear what he was saying, so Elliot would not have any opportunity to give them covered information.

"Sure."

"Elliot, I'd like to talk to one of the other men, to their leader. Can you…"

"The problem is," Elliot cut him off, "that he doesn't want to talk to you. You're gonna have to be satisfied with me."

"Well, one-to-one would be much easier," Jaenicke told him. The back of his neck tensed. If the hostage takers would not talk with him he could not negotiate. At least he was limited in his possibilities.

"He says no." Elliot took a deep breath. _Damn! The way Red is forcing us to talk with each other limits the negotiator's actions. It will be more difficult for him to judge his mood and intentions._

"What can you tell me about the situation in there?" Jaenicke asked.

Once more Elliot remained silent for a moment. On the monitor the cops in the command centre could see the man beside him speak to him.

"No one has been injured," he finally said. "The first shots went into the ceiling, the last one destroyed a telephone." He tried to glance at his captor, to get his permission. "One of the hostages is in labor."

Now it was Bobby's turn to gasp. They all watched with growing anxiety how the man bore the gun harder under Elliot's chin.

"I'd really like to talk to you," Jaenicke said, knowing that the hostage taker could hear him. "How can I address you?"

"You can call him Red," Elliot said after getting the allowance.

"Good, Red… let me tell you that I'll be your contact for anything. Whatever it is you can talk to me, anytime." He saw him nod but nothing else happened. "Red?"

"Yes," Elliot said. "He heard you."

"Okay, is there anything I can do?" This time he did not have to wait long.

"Detective Goren. Red wants to talk to Detective Robert Goren."

In the command truck everybody turned to Bobby. They had heard what Red had said earlier, but now they had the confirmation that Red meant what he said. He was intent on trying to get Bobby involved.

"No way," Deakins declared. "You're personally involved."

That elicited a bitter laugh from Bobby. "You can bet I am," he grumbled.

Ignoring the captain and his detective Jaenicke said, "I will see what I can do." He switched the sound off and turned to Deakins. "There must be a reason why Red thinks that they have better chances to get out of there if they negotiate with Detective Goren."

"Yeah, I can tell you," Munch threw in. "Because his wife's in there."

"Sir?" one of the uniformed officers interrupted. "I have data about the bank clerks."

Deakins ignored him for now. "Do you intend to let him talk with them?"

"At least I could not downright disagree," Jaenicke replied. "Whatever you say to a hostage taker… it shouldn't contain the word _no_."

"…no." Bobby had spoken the last words together with the negotiator.

"Are you trained?" Jaenicke turned to him.

"I only attended basic courses," Bobby told him. "But I have a lot of experience."

"Bobby can talk anyone into anything," Logan declared without being asked. "He can do that."

"Thanks, Mike," Bobby grumbled, uncomfortable with his praise which was inappropriate right now.

"Well, it's the truth. You talked four correctional officers out of beating us to death when the prison was in lockdown. You found their weak link and started to work on it. It's what you're good at."

Mike did not have to tell _him_ that. Bobby knew that he could do it, but Deakins was right, too. In this situation, with Alex inside of the bank, he was needed more than ever before, but actually he was uncertain if he could keep his calm knowing that his wife was held hostage and, even worse, in labor.

"Hold on!" Holding up his hand, Jaenicke demanded their attention because he got an incoming call from the bank. "Yeah?"

"Can we talk to Detective Goren now?" he heard Elliot ask.

"Detective Goren is on duty. It will take some time until he's here," Jaenicke explained. "We can talk until he arrives."

It was hard for him to watch how Red wrapped his arm around Elliot's neck and grabbed his head to pull him closer to whisper in his ear. Then he pushed him forward.

"You're lying," the detective said.

"You think I'm lying? Why do you think that?"

The gun moved to the side of Elliot's head when Red shoved him closer to the phone.

"He thinks that you're playing for time. That you don't plan to get him here."

Jaenicke noticed that Elliot sounded different now. He was more tense, the strain of the situation showing. "Why should I do that?" he asked, keeping his tone light.

"So that a team can prepare to come in for example."

"You know that I will do everything possible to get everyone out safe. First we'll talk. I just heard that Detective Goren is on his way back from Queens. He'll need about twenty minutes."

Silence.

"Did you hear what I said?" Jaenicke asked. He saw them stand there, still in the same position, the detective slightly bent forward under the pressure of the gun. "Elliot?"

"Yes, we heard you. You've got twenty minutes."

With that the other man turned off the speaker.

"You bought us time," Deakins said. "Good."

"Can you talk with them?" Jaenicke turned to Bobby. "We can't risk letting you talk with them if you're not up to it."

"I am and I can," Bobby said. His view was drawn by the monitor where he saw Alex, doubling over with the next contraction. "We could ask what they want and see if we can trade something against Alex and the other women."

Jaenicke was surprised but did not show it. This detective had to be worried beyond belief for his wife and their soon to be born children and mentioned her in the same breath with the other hostages. Maybe he was not even conscious that he did it.

A few minutes passed in silence. They had evacuated the building the bank was in, built up an outer and inner perimeter around the bank, placing their officers in tactical positions. The surveillance system was set up and provided them with eyes and ears. They got the blueprints of the building and now the files of the bank clerks. The officer who organized them finally started to inform the others and more minutes were flying by.

Then Bobby cleared his throat.

"It's time."

"Yeah," Jaenicke murmured, "it is." He made room for Bobby to sit beside him and plugged in another set of headphones.

"Showtime," Bobby mumbled and made the connection. The phone rang and Red pushed the speaker button.

"Goren?"

"Yeah, Elliot," Bobby replied. "I'm here now… and I'm ready to talk to Red."

Once more the obligatory interruption followed when Red told Elliot how to answer.

"He's not ready to talk now," Elliot said.

"I'd like to ask something if that's okay."

A short hesitation… then, "Okay."

"Please tell me how many hostages are in there."

"Nineteen… eight women, nine men, including me, a kid, a teenager," Elliot told him, faltering in the end because he thought of Alex. He heard her moan but could not turn to her because Red held his cuffs and pressed the gun against his head.

"Thanks. How are they doing? Do you need anything for them? For yourself?"

It was nail-biting to wait. At least Bobby could watch them. The questions Jaenicke and he were asking were for the hostage takers as they did not know that they could be seen.

"Not right now," Elliot finally said. "There's nothing to be said right now."

And Red cut off the connection.

xxx

All Elliot could do was breathe and try to keep his mouth shut. The muzzle boring into his flesh was a constant reminder of his mortality.

From behind he heard Alex groan. It was obvious that the contractions came in shorter intervals. Damn! Why couldn't they just let him help her?

"Ain't that thrilling, Elliot?" Red asked and got a nod as answer. "More thrilling than all attractions of Six Flags together, huh?"

"Yeah," Elliot groaned. It was _not_ a good sign that Red seemed to get off on the situation.

Red chuckled, then he raised his free hand.

Elliot shrank back from the touch, but could not avoid it. His jaw was grabbed hard and he was forced to look directly at his captor. Now he could clearly see that Red was masked. His appearance was altered with a wig and other tricks a makeup artist might use. Maybe even the brown eyes were colored with contact lenses.

Then Red let go of him and stepped aside. Taking a deep breath Elliot cleared his throat.

"You want to tell me something?" Red wanted to know.

"Can you please let me help Alex? It won't be long now until she gives birth."

Thoughtfully Red looked from him to the pregnant detective and back to Elliot.

"I'll release you when it becomes urgent," he said.

"Did you ever witness a birth? It already _is_ urgent." Elliot choked. Red's face was unreadable and he feared that he might have made a mistake.

A suppressed chuckle burst into the tense silence and sent chills down Elliot's spine.

"You don't have to play hero for her," Red teased.

This time a low snort could be heard.

"I have something else to do first," Red told Elliot, turned to the hostages… and directed his gun at the teenager who had caused so much trouble, certain to have identified the origin of the annoying sounds. "You! Stand up," he ordered.

Elliot stood unmoving, just squinting at the boy. That was not good. What the hell did Red plan to do to him?

"Boy! What's your name?"

The young man stood in an easy manner, sounding arrogant when he answered, "Dustin Worthington."

"Sooo… _Mr._ Worthington," Red taunted. "You're laughing at me? Do you think I'm funny?"

"Nope."

"You're too young, huh? Still thinking you're invincible?"

This time Dustin did not answer. His cool façade seemed to crumble just a fraction.

"Or do you think Elliot here is funny?" Red challenged.

_Where the hell is he going with these questions?_ Elliot wondered. _Damn! Stop playing games!_

"I'm telling you something… he saved your life, kid." Coldness hardened his voice now and did not fail its effect on the boy.

Pulling his courage together Dustin said, "It's his job."

"His job! Oh!" Red replied with mock surprise. "Are you paying him as babysitter?"

A few other hostages bowed their heads to hide a smirk. Red's buddies laughed about the comment.

_Nice of him put the arrogant little prick in his place, _Elliot thought_. I just hope they don't decide to shoot him._

"My dad does, with his taxes."

"Ah, I see… you're part of _the_ Worthington family, huh?"

This time he got no answer.

"Cat got your tongue?" Red teased. "Scared that daddy might not pay for you if we ask him for ransom?" He laughed out loud. "I bet he had to pay a fortune for you to look that shabby in your washed out designer jeans with ripped holes. What did he spend for this outfit? One thousand? Two?"

Closing the distance between them with two long strides he grabbed him by the four hundred dollar sweater and pulled him over to stand opposite of Elliot.

"I'll teach you something 'bout life, boy," he snarled. "I have more respect for Elliot here than for a rich boy like you who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Why do you think he risked himself to save you, huh?"

_Less paperwork if you keep the hostages alive_, Elliot thought, and absurdly, he really had to try hard to quash the smirk that wanted to touch his lips.

Dustin seemed to be at a loss, especially when Elliot fixated him with his stunning blue eyes and gave him his best perp-intimidating-look.

"B-because… he's… trained for it. D-doing… his job," he stuttered.

Shaking his head Red held his gun to Elliot's head again, asking, "Do you think he's scared?"

Elliot did his best not to show that he actually was scared… scared for the teenager's life. And of the gun pressing on his temple.

"Did you ask yourself if he has family?" Red pressed. "Huh? Do you have family, Elliot?"

"Yeah."

"A wife?"

"Yeah."

"Kids?"

"Five."

"Five! Wow! Congratulations!" Now he turned to Dustin again. "Don't you think that he wants to see them again when his shift is over? Do you think he wants to die for your stupidity?"

Swallowing hard Dustin shook his head.

"So maybe you want to apologize to him for your thoughtless comment," Red teased.

But Dustin just stared back into the crystal clear blue eyes.

"I guess I didn't make it clear… apologize!"

"I don't need his forced apology," Elliot grumbled.

"Yeah? Well, I didn't ask your opinion, Elliot. C'mon, Dusty, apologize!"

"I'm sorry, Detective," Dustin mumbled.

"Use his name you little worm!" Red bellowed and Dustin jumped.

"I... Uh… I'm sorry, um…" he stuttered, his face contorted with terror.

Elliot looked at the boy desperately. _Come on, kid, he just said it._

When Dustin spoke again, his voice betrayed the fact that he was close to tears. Casting Red a terrified look, he wailed, "I'm sorry! I don't _know_ his name!"

For one moment, Red looked at him blankly, then his face became a mask of rage and he shoved the boy against the counter with a bone-jarring crunch. Dustin slumped to the floor and hid his face in his hands, weeping.

"You worthless little piece of trash!" Red raged at him as he pivoted to bring the gun to bear on the boy. "I should do the world a favor and kill you now!"

"No!" Elliot shouted and stepped into the line of fire. His heart moved into his throat and threatened to choke him, but he stood his ground. _Oh, God! Don't let him pull the trigger. Shit! Just let Red calm down again._ Once more he stared into the muzzle, his heart still beating frantically.

Red began to chuckle. "Elliot, I'm surprised at you! You already saved his life once, and he's such an ingrate he didn't even bother to remember your name. What do you care whether he lives or dies?"

"I don't want to see _anyone_ die," Elliot told him evenly, "not him _or_ you, but if you take his life, they won't let you walk out of here alive."

Red held Elliot's gaze for a moment, then he gestured to a spot a few feet away and said, "Move over there."

Elliot held his ground until Red told him, "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt him, much, Elliot."

Elliot hesitated a moment longer, and Red warned him in a dangerous tone, "You really don't want to piss me off, now, Elliot."

Once Elliot was out of his way, Red crouched down beside Dustin and shook him by the shoulder. Dustin whimpered and tried to cower away, but Red grabbed him by the hair and said, "Look at me, you little punk."

Hesitantly, Dustin looked up and sniffled.

With the gun against Dustin's cheek, Red used his other hand to point at Elliot and said, "Look at him."

Dustin glanced in Elliot's direction and then back toward the gun pressed against his face.

"Look at him!" Red insisted forcefully.

Dustin took a shaky breath and fixed his eyes on Elliot. "That is a real man, you little prick," Red told him. "You may have money, but he has guts, he has _balls_. Now, have you been paying attention? Do you remember his name?"

Dustin nodded as much as the gun pressing into his flesh would allow and whimpered, "Elliot."

"Good," Red praised him almost kindly. "Now get up," he coaxed.

When Dustin hesitated, Red took him by the hair and pulled him to his feet. "I said get _up_!"

Dustin was trembling as Red led him over to Elliot.

"Now, apologize for your behavior," Red instructed.

"I… I'm sorry for… um…for risking your life, Elliot, and for not, uh, for not being more respectful, and um, thank you for saving my life," Dustin added for good measure.

"Twice," Red told him.

"Right, thank you for saving my life twice, Elliot," Dustin said.

Elliot nodded tensely. "You're welcome," he said, "and apology accepted."

"Good, Dusty," Red praised with false elation. "It wasn't that difficult after all, was it? Now, come here!" With that he took his arm and shoved him over to the stairs leading to the gallery with offices. There he shoved him down to sit on the floor, grabbing his wrists. Binding them with tape he brought the arms up to the railing and wrapped the tape around and around until Dustin could not move his hands at all.

"I hope you'll have fun now watching."

Red ruffled the boy's hair and put on a T by taping his mouth, too. Then he went back to Elliot. Standing right before him he studied the detective's features.

"You don't look happy," he stated.

"Why should I?" Elliot asked back, a hint of stubbornness in his voice as Alex gasped and moaned with her contractions again. "I didn't need a forced apology or his _thanks_… especially not when she needs my help."

"Don't forget… you promised, no tricks."

"How could I forget."

For another moment Red eyed him intently, then he stepped behind him and grabbed for the cuffs. While he fumbled with the key they heard Alex cry out.

"Bobby?!" she panted, her pain clearly audible.

Craning his neck, Elliot spotted why she sounded so agitated. There was a dark stain on her clothes.

"What's wrong?" Green panted.

"What do you think is wrong?" Elliot snapped. "Her water broke. The babies are coming. Now!"

tbc…


	6. Chapter 6

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. :) I wouldn't have thought that this little sidetrack would draw that much attention. Thank you. Hugs! This is for _Iluvstabler_ and my beta reader. Thanks, you two. :) Everyone, enjoy!

**Ch 6**

Freed from the cuffs Elliot did not waste a second thought on the man threatening him. He turned and went down on his knees in front of Alex. She still leaned against the counter and was breathing hard. Suddenly he felt utterly helpless… like he had done when Kathy and Olivia gave birth to his own children.

Taking Alex's hand he felt that it was cold. At once she nearly crushed his in her iron grip.

"Elliooot?" she moaned.

"Yeah, Alex. I'm here."

"Oooh, that con…traaaaction."

"I know," Elliot murmured. "I also know that it can still take some time."

"Don't say thaaaat!" she gasped. "It's the… second time… might… be faster."

"Twins usually take longer," Elliot said before he could think twice about it. Her dead glare almost scared him more than Red's gun.

"Uuuugh!"

Gasping for breath Alex finally settled down. Only slowly her aching body relaxed and she looked at Elliot expectantly.

"What?" he asked.

"You're not going to leave me, are you?"

Squeezing her hand back he shook his head. "I'll stay with you," he whispered.

"How sweet!" Green taunted and caught a glare shot by Red.

"You'll have to answer the phone again," Red told Elliot. "You know I won't negotiate myself."

"Now that you mention it…" Elliot mumbled. "Why don't you talk to Goren? You asked for him as negotiator, you got him… so why don't you talk yourself?" Actually Elliot had an idea what the reason could be but he wanted to hear if Red would answer him.

"That's none of your business," Red said. "Now look after her."

_Yeah, sure,_ Elliot thought. _Guess you met Bobby before, huh? Could he identify you?_

Elliot knew he would not get an answer to his questions, at least not from Red. Searching eye-contact with Alex Elliot narrowed his eyes questioningly, indicating the leader with a gesture. _Do you know him?_ he mouthed, but Alex shook her head.

"Didn't you say that the babies are coming now?" Red asked. "Shouldn't you undress her?"

"When the contractions are coming at intervals of about three minutes," Elliot told him without looking up at him. He held Alex's gaze. "But someone has to keep an eye on her now. She also shouldn't sit on the hard floor. Can't we take her over to the suite over in the corner? It would be much better if she could rest on the couch."

Red looked in the direction of the comfortable waiting area. It was way too close to a door leading to the back exit.

"I don't think so," he said. Then he turned to the hostages, "Lady in blue, would you be so kind to get us some of the cushions?"

"Who, me?" the brunette in blue jeans and blouse asked, instinctively flinching back a bit. Her hands started to shake.

"Yeah, you. Can you get them, please?"

Elliot was not the only one who was surprised by Red using such kind words.

"K-karen," she mumbled as she got unsteadily to her feet.

"Come again?"

"K-karen, my name's Karen," she said barely louder than before. Glancing furtively at Red she slowly made her way to the sofa. It was not easy for her to get the cushions off of the furniture.

_Good move,_ Elliot thought. _Good but a bit dangerous. He forbid talking… well, you made him aware that you have a name. You're not anonymous anymore._

Alex groaned. She yearned for a bed. She yearned for her midwife. She yearned for her husband. In her lower back she felt pain well up again. Alex did not want to let it come, but she could not change it.

"Elliot?"

"Yeah?" His hand still stuck in her vice-like grip. She squeezed it hard when the next contraction came.

"Tell me that we'll get out of here," she pleaded.

"Soon, Alex. Everything will be alright."

"Liar!" she spat.

At first Elliot felt a sting of offence but then he smirked. She had to vent her emotions somehow and he was just a suitable target.

Beside them Karen squatted down, shoving one of the big cushions over to Alex.

"How should we do that?" she asked.

"Can you bring us a second?" Elliot replied. "She could lie down on them."

"Okay."

Just a moment later she was back with the second cushion. Between Karen and Elliot Alex managed to get on the thick padded linen covered couch cushions.

_Good that they're dark blue,_ she thought and had to chuckle. No matter if the fabric's color was light or dark, the cushions would be ruined once the babies arrived.

"Is that better?" Elliot asked.

"A bit, yeah."

"Was there a blanket or a pillow on the couch, too?" he turned to Karen.

"Hmmm… I'll have a second look." She went to check it out but was back quickly, shaking her head. Then she looked up at Red, "Could I ask the others for a jacket or sweatshirt? She could do with something to support her back."

One of the other women, belonging to the bank's staff, cleared her throat.

"What?" Green bellowed. "Quiet!"

"In this case, let her," Red told him. "What do you want?"

"I know where… I could get a blanket," she murmured. "There are some in the personnel break room."

"And you want to go and get them?" Red said, a hint of a threat in his voice.

"Y-yeah."

Red turned his head and fixated one of his men.

"Grey, you'll go and get those blankets," Red ordered him.

"What good does that do?" the other guy grumbled.

"You'll go and get them!" Red repeated, louder this time. "C'mon!"

So Grey went along with the demand and vanished through a door. Most of the hostages stared at this door. It was a distant prospect for them, something they could not get.

It was a way out.

xXx

Bobby Goren stared at the monitor feeling utterly, awfully helpless. To see his wife in this predicament tore his heart into pieces and his mind worked on overdrive to find a way to get her out of there.

_Her and the other hostages as well,_ Bobby scolded himself.

He admired the courage of the hostages who went to help Alex and he was grateful to Elliot for taking care of her. Even though he wished he could, it would be stupid to tell him that when they were on the phone the next time. As much as the hostage takers knew the police's only way to get information about what was going on inside of the bank were the calls. Bobby would not dare to risk anything by accidentally giving away that they knew more than what Elliot told them.

Right now Bobby thought about how to direct the next talk to Red letting Alex and probably the other women go. What were his chances? This time he could not tell.

Sensing movement behind him he turned his head and spotted Mike. Without saying anything he laid his hands on his colleague's shoulders and gently kneaded them. Submitting himself to the massage Bobby let Mike work.

A sigh escaped Bobby and he closed his eyes. Still he was concentrating on his surroundings. He heard Deakins discuss with Carolyn and Olivia while Tippe and Jaenicke talked with an officer who had brought them background information about the bank's staff. Though Bobby appeared to be lost in the massage he did not miss a word.

Suddenly he asked, "Is someone from the bank here with us?"

"Yeah," Deakins confirmed, looking at Bobby, surprised.

"Maybe this someone could help us to identify the hostages."

Jaenicke nodded. "I would have asked him anyway," he said and went to get the loan officer who was a man in his fifties with graying hair and he appeared to be visibly shaken by what had happened.

"If it wouldn't have been for that meeting," he mumbled a few times while he was looking at the monitors, trying to give the faces of the scared people sitting on the floor a name. "The woman in blue who got the cushions, that's Karen Grant. She only got a loan about two weeks ago. Hmmm… they're not so easy to see the way they're sitting there… Well, he's Kurt Grzbielok, usually works at the first counter from the left, and right beside him is Adele Bryson."

Deakins nodded. They already knew which of them was working at the bank.

"Can you identify any of the clients?" the captain asked.

"Adele's wearing her heart on her sleeve, she may have pushed the panic button… um, this could be Bart Philips." He pointed at the monitor.

"Anyone else?"

"Hmmm." Bending further forward he looked closely then he backed off again. "I'm not sure, but she probably is Veronica… um, Calloway, and there I see Claudia Watzlavik." Patiently the cops waited while he was staring at the screen. "Sorry, but… Oh!" he suddenly said, straightening up and pointing at someone else. "That's the Worthington's boy!"

"Worthington? You mean _the_ Worthingtons?" Tippe pushed.

"Yes." His voice carried a tremor. "I… I should call his father."

"That won't be necessary," Jaenicke told him, thinking of how they got to know who the boy was.

"We will call him," Deakins added. "Logan?"

"Yeah, Cap," Mike agreed and took his phone out.

"That would be all, Sir," Deakins told the loan officer. "If we have further questions we will contact you again."

"I could stay close by, at the deli around the corner for example," he suggested and holding out his business card he added, "Here's my cell phone number."

"Thank you, Sir."

He nodded at the cops and then he left.

"The son of Dustin Worthington," Deakins mused who just now realized what his presence might mean. "Crap."

"He's a hostage like all the others, nothing more, nothing less," Bobby murmured, staring at the monitor again.

"His father will see that differently," Tippe said.

"He's a teenager, so I'll try to get him out together with the women, but as he's a boy and close to coming of age the hostage takers might consider him a man… more importantly, they might consider him a source for ransom money as his family is one of the richest in New York. It'll be difficult to get him out."

"Probably," Deakins agreed. "So you will start with Eames and the other women?"

"Yeah," Bobby agreed, "once I made a connection with the hostage takers."

"Okay, I'll be right back. I will make that call." Deakins nodded at Logan who put his cell phone back into his jacket and got out his own. Then he retreated into a corner of the command center.

For another moment Bobby just stared at the monitor. He watched how Elliot and Karen helped Alex onto the cushions and his heart started beating so frantically that he thought it would burst out of his chest. Even as Alex was small in the picture the mini-camera provided he could tell that her water broke. She needed medical attention as soon as possible and he would do whatever he could to get her help.

And there still was this dull feeling in his gut, the feeling that he might know one of the gunmen. Over the microphones that belonged to the cameras he could have sworn he heard a familiar voice, but he was not sure. He was still trying to figure it out while Alex lay in labor. It broke Bobby's heart.

Reaching for the buttons on the telephone Bobby opened the line again and the phone in the bank started to ring.

xXx

Alex was squirming on the cushions. So far her contractions came in intervals of six minutes. Elliot just had waited for the next to take the time. He seemed to be right with his assumption that it could still take some time until the twins would come.

"God, Elliot," Alex moaned, pressing her hands into her sides, but that did not take the pain away.

Karen reached out for Alex's left hand and the detective held on to her with a crushing grip.

"Uuugh!"

All Elliot could do right now was take her right hand, watch and lowly murmur reassurances. Whether she listened to him or not he could not tell. Still Alex was cramped.

"Stop it!" she suddenly barked at Elliot. "That doesn't help!"

"Sorry, Alex, I…"

"Where's Bobby when I need him?" she panted.

"You'll be with him in no time," Karen said encouragingly, wiping Alex's sweaty forehead with a tissue.

Somehow Elliot was glad that she said it instead of himself.

"How do you know?!" Alex snapped, piercing Karen with a dead glare. "Uuugh!"

The contraction ebbed away and Alex could relax for a moment, as much as she _could_ relax.

Concentrating completely on Alex Elliot did not even hear that the phone was ringing. So he was taken by surprise when he suddenly was yanked up to his feet from behind.

"What did I tell you?" Red snarled in his ear. "C'mon! Over to the phone!"

Helplessly Elliot glanced down at Alex as he was shoved over to the counter. Red pressed the button for the speaker.

"Yeah?"

"Hello, Elliot," Bobby Goren said. "Can we talk?"

Unfortunately Elliot did not know what to answer. It was not his decision to make. Then he told Bobby what Red was saying to him, "What about?"

"That's what I wanted to ask Red," Bobby answered casually.

Impressed, Elliot noticed that Bobby's voice sounded absolutely calm. While Elliot himself was a very good interrogator he knew that detective Robert Goren was famous for his interest in psychology and interrogation techniques. In the sworn community of the NYPD nobody remained unnoticed who could show five sting operations with a one hundred percent conviction rate. His and Eames' solve rate at Major Case also was close to one hundred percent.

Red did not give Elliot a reply, so the detective remained silent.

"Well," Bobby said. "I want to let you know, Red, that I'll be here. You asked for me as negotiator and here I am, here I'll stay, ready to talk." Pausing a moment Bobby waited for an answer that never came. "I think that it would be good if we all, on both sides, calm down and just talk. I have time. I won't go anywhere. So whatever you'd like to talk about, Red, I'll be here for you."

Once more Elliot waited with him for an answer. This time he heard Red murmur close to his ear.

"He says that he knows why you won't go anywhere," Elliot said.

"I'm interested in getting to know what you think, Red."

Even though Elliot knew that the best thing Bobby could do was to address Red personally he felt strangely ignored. Getting the next order he knew that this would become either a very short or an extremely long negotiation.

"He says that he doesn't want to chat and asks what… you're prepared to give him for the life of your wife."

Silence fell.

It lasted for several long seconds.

Then Elliot was the first who spoke again, "He told me that you shouldn't waste anybody's time with mind games."

"Well, whatever you want to talk about, Red, I'll listen," Bobby replied.

"You could turn the power and air conditioner back on," Elliot told him as he was ordered.

"Oh, the air conditioner's not working?" Bobby asked back. "That…"

"…is not good for the hostages. When it's too hot the hostage takers might become edgy and they could accidentally pull the trigger."

"I'll have to look into it," Bobby said. "When I do you this favor I expect you to be co-operative, too."

"What exactly do you expect?"

Bobby knew what he wanted, but he also knew that his own wish could not have priority.

"We're talking about the hostages, nothing more, nothing less."

"Sure," Elliot forwarded. "You'll turn the air conditioner back on and you'll get one of the female tellers."

"Well, Red, you said you don't want to waste time. What else do you demand?"

There was another moment of silence before Elliot said, "Turn the power back on as well as the air conditioner. You'll get us food and drinks, a few blankets and pillows as well as ten pairs of handcuffs."

Saying the last words his voice was slightly shaking. Most people would have missed it, but Bobby noticed it at once. He wondered how long Elliot would be able to play Red's game.

"In order to get these things you should let the women go, Red," Bobby said.

"No."

"Well, you should take it into consideration, Red," Bobby said, deciding to be straightforward. "Think about what will happen when Alex is giving birth. Even if Elliot can help her, there may be complications. There's no reason…"

"Why don't you just say that you want your wife back?" Elliot forwarded what Red told him.

"We want to find a solution that advances your situation. Letting the women go does not only free you from the responsibility for them but will supply you with your needs."

Once more there was a moment of silence.

"There won't be any more negotiation if you can't admit that you just want Alex."

After Elliot had said that the line remained silent for a short while.

"You're right," Bobby finally said. "I want my wife to be safe. I want my children to be safe. I want that just like every single relative of the hostages wants his daughter, mother, brother, sister, son or father to be safe."

_Great,_ Elliot thought. _Create an emotional connection to the hostages. _Then he heard Red whisper.

"You won't get eight hostages for some simple supplies," Elliot told Bobby.

"Well, letting the women go will relieve you of…"

"You can have the woman and her kid." Elliot shuddered as he repeated what Red told him. He knew what was at stake.

"It would relieve you of your responsibility for them," Bobby said as if Elliot had not even spoken. "You also would prove that you are prepared to negotiate and that you're trustworthy."

Silence.

A long silence.

Elliot could hear Bobby's breathing. Behind him Red grew thoughtful. He exchanged glances with Green, then he shook his head. Rubbing his chin he made his decision.

"One woman and the younger kid," Elliot told Bobby.

"Three," Bobby said without hesitation.

"I knew you'd say that," Red grumbled into Elliot's ear and the detective repeated it.

"And what's your answer?"

"Two and the kid. No further negotiations."

"We are talking about the kid's mother, right?"

"Yeah."

"And about Alex…"

Elliot hesitated. As he had understood Red they were talking about Alex, but he was not sure and so he did not answer.

"I ask you to please let Alexandra Eames go. She's in labor and needs a doctor."

Still there was no answer from Red. Elliot felt uneasy. If they could not talk they would get stuck and this situation could last forever.

Feverishly Bobby thought about what to say. He knew what Red wanted him to do and he hesitated to do it, not because he felt embarrassed by begging, but because it might undermine his authority. Still he wanted nothing more than to get Alex out of the bank, no matter what he would have to do.

Bobby felt a hand on his shoulder and when he looked up he saw Deakins beside him. Almost imperceptible the captain nodded and Bobby took a deep breath. Straightening up he prepared for what he had to say.

"I kindly ask you to please let my wife go." Now it was out. Anxiously he waited for Red's answer. Even though he had given him what he wanted it still was no guarantee that they would agree to let Alex out.

"Okay," Elliot said.

Bobby sighed a breath of relief. Then he continued the negotiation.

"As Alex already is in advanced labor she'll have difficulties in moving by herself. Do you agree with a paramedic coming in to help her?"

"No. They're not allowed to go further than five yards from the front door."

"She probably won't be able to walk that far."

"Red says that the other woman can help her."

"Why don't you let one of the medics go in? He won't cause any trouble. All he wants to do is care for his patient."

Silence.

In the background Alex was groaning as another contraction tore on her back. Karen held her hand and murmured assurances.

"You," Elliot finally said.

"Come again?" Silently Bobby cursed himself for asking. He had not realized what Elliot said because he had concentrated on Alex for a moment.

"Red says that he will allow you to bring in the requested items and take Alex with you."

"Okay…"

"You'll come alone, without your jacket, rolled up sleeves. You have 30 minutes."

And with that Red cut off the connection.

"You've done great, Elliot," he snarled. "You can go back to your _patient_."

"What are you planning to do?" Elliot asked.

"Nothing."

"I can tell the difference between nothing and _nothing_." When Elliot felt the gun against his head he doubted the wisdom of asking.

"You shouldn't be so curious," Red admonished him, tightening the grip on his neck. "Now go and help her… _if_ you can help."

With a strong push he shoved him in the right direction. Elliot did not dare to say anything. He just returned to Alex's side.

"Did I hear that right?" she gasped. "He wants to come in to get me out?"

Elliot nodded.

"Is he… crazy?" she panted as another contraction robbed her of her breath. "Wait! Don't answer that. I know he is."

Now Elliot could not help his grin. Alex's snarky remarks were adorable. He admired her for her strength which reminded him of his own wife. _All women who are about to give birth seem to be alike,_ he thought. _Everything that's strong in them comes out to take care of the baby._

Elliot's time was filled with comforting Alex, counting the minutes between her contractions and worrying that she might be delivering earlier than expected when the intervals became shorter. Once again he was so concentrated on her that he did not notice that the half hour was almost over.

"It's time," Red spat, grabbed Elliot's arm and pulled him up. "You gotta let go now."

"Hey," Elliot said. "Take it easy. I won't try anything. I just want to help."

"I know, Elliot," Red smirked. "But right now you help us best by getting out of the way."

Before Elliot realized what happened he found himself in Green's hands and his arms were pulled behind his back.

"Wait!"

This single word was enough to annoy Red, too. He could be generous if it would help him reach his goal, but he would not tolerate misbehaving. And so he was fast with hitting Elliot with the cuffs he already held in his hands. Groaning the detective stumbled to the side, stunned by the blow against his head. As Green held on to his arms hard they were twisted painfully. Green did not hesitate to kick him, too, then both men brought his wrists together and the cuffs snapped shut around them, rendering him helpless again.

_Why can't you keep your mouth shut, Elliot? Why did you have to provoke him, huh?_

Red took him by his arm and shoved him toward the entrance. Then he gestured the young woman and her daughter to get up and come over. They did as they were ordered and got positioned between Red and the door.

"When the cop's coming you'll let him in," Red instructed her. Then they waited.

Right in time the big figure of Bobby Goren approached the bank. As he had been told he did not wear a jacket and his sleeves were rolled up. With both hands he was carrying the box with the supplies. The door opened and he went in.

"Put it down," Green now was the one who ordered him. As a precaution he was pointing his gun at him.

The muzzle of Red's gun was pressed under Elliot's jaw and Bobby was sure that Red would pull the trigger if he got provoked.

So Bobby sat the box down in front of his feet, straightened up and, before he was told, stretched out his arms to the side, slowly turning to show that he did not carry any weapon.

"Okay. Show us your ankles," Green barked.

And Bobby pulled up his trouser legs to show that he had no backup-piece either.

"Good. Now put the box on the table over there. Yellow! Check it!"

Once Bobby complied one of the men in the background of the bank came over to look inside. He examined the content thoroughly before he nodded.

"Okay. Now go get your wife."

Relieved Bobby slowly walked over to Alex. He did that deliberately slowly because he did not want to appear threatening. When he reached the cushions he squatted down beside them.

"You got to have your way again, huh?" Alex grumbled. The sparks in her eyes belied her rant. She was glad to have him by her side.

"Let's go, Alex," he just said and carefully picked her up. Carrying her on both arms, cradling her head in the curve of his neck while she wrapped her arms around him, he went back to the entrance. The other woman stood waiting, holding her child in a tight embrace.

"You can go," Green spat. "We have a deal, so go!"

Hesitantly, as if they could not believe their luck, mother and child slowly moved toward the door. Bobby followed them, keeping an eye on the bank robbers. Then his gaze met Elliot's and he tried to convey his gratitude with this look. Elliot answered with a crooked smile. The other two detectives would go free and he would remain stuck in here, being at the mercy of Red and his friends.

Still the woman was on the inside of the door. As if in slow motion she reached for the door handle, grabbed and turned it. The door swung open.

That was when a treacherous _beep-beep_ cut the silence.

"Stop!" Red barked, making the woman actually stop.

"What?" Bobby asked, wondering where the sound came from.

"Stay where you…"

"Go!" Elliot cried out, squirming in Red's grip.

"Go!" Bobby also yelled, holding on to Alex with his left arm but pushing the woman through the gap with his right.

They were out in a second. Bobby could not see them, but he knew that mother and child would be grabbed by waiting SWAT members, pulling them into cover and protecting them.

"You go, too!" Bobby gasped and wanted to push Alex through the door, too.

_Beep, beep, beep, beep…_

Alex knew what it was and was about to panic. The battery of her cell phone was empty. It alerted her that it needed power. Unfortunately it did that at the worst moment possible.

"Freeze!" Red thundered.

With a kick in the hollows of his knees he forced Elliot down on his knees and pressed the gun against his head.

"One more move and he's history!"

Bobby glanced over his shoulder. The exit and safety were only inches away.

"Don't you dare to try it," Red snarled.

Harder he pressed the gun in Elliot's flesh. The detective squinted up at Bobby, his features filled with pain and determination.

_Go,_ he mouthed.

While the cell phone kept on beeping they all stood in the entrance, frozen.

tbc…


	7. Chapter 7

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

**Ch 7**

"Can you take them out?" Deakins asked.

"Negative, Sir," one of the snipers came over the radio. "The venetian blinds are limiting the view into the room. I'd risk hitting the hostages."

"Dammit!" Mike swore and expressed what they all were thinking.

"I couldn't take them out all at once anyway," Alpha Two told them. "Only the leader is close to the door, together with Detective Stabler, the woman, and the kid."

"What about the others?" Tippe asked.

"Negative. All the windows are covered by blinds."

"Can you see the second man? Green?"

"No, Sir."

Tense silence fell. Goren was approaching the door, carrying the box with food, drinks, blankets, and handcuffs.

_Handcuffs,_ Deakins thought. _To control the hostages. I guess they want them for the men they're holding. Just to be on the safe side._

On the monitor they saw Red and Elliot from behind. Closer to the door were mother and child. Green stood more to the left. Right then the woman moved to open the door and let Bobby in.

He sat down the box, presented himself to prove that he did not carry a weapon and showed his ankles, too. Then he brought the supplies further into the bank. Red and Elliot turned, but did not follow him.

Green was giving the orders now. Deakins wondered why they had switched roles. In his gut he could feel that it was not a good sign. Instinctively he understood that Red did not avoid talking to them in general. He avoided talking to Bobby.

_God, just let them get out of there now._

Anxiously Deakins watched how Bobby picked up Alex from the cushions and carried her to the door. The tension he felt was awful. It chewed him from the inside out.

_Only a few more steps. There she goes, opening the door. Go!_

That was when low beeping sounds shattered the tense silence in the bank. Deakins could see Bobby tense and then push the woman and her child trough the door.

"No!" Deakins yelled.

"We have two of the hostages," Alpha Four said on the radio.

That was small comfort for Deakins whose insides seemed to explode as he and all the others in the command center had to watch helplessly how the situation in the bank threatened to get out of control.

xXx

"Get away from the door!" Red bellowed, strengthening his hold on Elliot.

The detective did not even try to resist, yet Red's fingers dug painfully in his arm and the muzzle of the gun now pressed under his jaw robbed him of his breath. Pushing with the gun and pulling on his arm Red made Elliot stand up again.

"I said, get away from the door!"

Red's voice almost broke with rage. It thundered in Elliot's ear.

Still holding Alex in his arms Bobby now rushed to follow the order. As he walked toward the counter he could hear the beeps even better.

"What the fuck's that beeping?!" Red screamed.

"M-my phone," Alex rasped breathlessly.

"Explain to me! We collected them all. It should be turned off!"

Alex swallowed her fear and was about to answer when Red fired his next words.

"Tell me!" he roared, giving the gun another push to emphasize his order. "C'mon, tell me!"

"I dropped it," Alex said, struggling to get out of Bobby's arms. "When you came in I dropped it. In the chaos it slid under the counter. I couldn't reach it when you told us to give you the phones."

_Wow, that's my Alex,_ Bobby thought as she stood in front of him now, ready to defend them all even though she had to be in pain from her labor. As it was advanced he suspected that she would not be able to keep standing for long.

"Are you kidding me?!" Red shouted. "Don't fuck with me, bitch!"

_Now he's showing his real face,_ Elliot thought.

"I'm not lying!" Alex spat. "It's right under this… counteeer!"

Another contraction hit her and made her writhe. Bobby caught her fall and lowered her on the cushions.

"Let go of her!" Red ordered. "Let go!"

"She needs help!" Bobby replied, his voice carrying his fear for Alex and the babies.

"Well, thanks to her cell phone she won't get it! Now let go of her!"

To emphasize his demand Red hooked Elliot's neck with his right arm and pressed. As he now had a better grip on him, Red let go of the detective's arm and pulled out his knife again.

Hesitantly Bobby moved away from Alex.

"Now find that damned phone!"

So Bobby squatted down and tried to reach the phone under the counter. He glanced at Elliot.

Fear contorted his colleague's features, his eyes were wide, and his mouth open as he gasped for air. Given the escalating situation he did not care if he gave away his anxiety. To hell with it, he was scared to death. With his hands cuffed behind his back he was rendered helpless, unable to defend himself.

"Here it is," Bobby said, holding up the corpus delicti.

"Why's it beeping? Is someone listening there?" Red barked.

"The battery's low," Bobby said, keeping his voice soft and low. "It's…"

Right then the noises stopped.

"It's completely discharged." Bobby held it up. The display was dark. "It can't send anything."

"But it was on before, right?!" Red yelled. "Who did you call? Who was listening? Your colleagues? Did they listen to us?"

"Nooo," Alex groaned. "It… just was on standby."

"It better has been," Red snarled.

Elliot gasped for breath as much as he could. The arm pressing on his throat threatened to suffocate him. His blue eyes pierced Bobby who was still holding the phone, his arm outstretched to indicate that he would not try to mess with it.

"Put it on the counter and step aside!" Red ordered and barked right next to Elliot's ear, "The other side!" when he saw him approach Alex again.

Slowly Bobby moved in the opposite direction. He saw Red force Elliot down on his knees again. What was the man up to? Should he intervene? The phone started to ring but no one reacted.

"Travis Newcombe," Bobby said, getting Red's attention at once. "There's no need to make the situation worse. Talk with Lieutenant Jaenicke."

"I want to talk with YOU!" Red barked, poking his finger at Bobby. "That's why I asked for you as negotiator. You'd do anything to save your wife and now you're here!"

"That's right, Travis," Bobby said calmly even though it cost him everything he had. "You got what you wanted, so you can let her go now."

"Nobody's going anywhere!"

Red pushed Elliot further down to the floor so that he came to lie prone. Then he let go of him and advanced on Bobby instead. With his gun he hit the side of the detective's head. Bobby swayed a bit, but then he recovered quickly. He had to protect Alex and the other hostages.

"You'll surrender without any condition," Red snarled right into Bobby's face. "Or she's dead… and the babies with her." He took Bobby's left wrist and ratcheted a handcuff around it. Then he attached a second handcuff to his right wrist. "Don't pregnant women lean against their partners when they give birth? Sit behind your precious Alex… C'mon!"

Herded over to his wife by Red, Bobby complied. He remembered Travis Newcombe. Before he joined Major Case Bobby had been with Narcotics and during one of his sting operations he met Newcombe. Back then the man had been a low rank dealer who tried to use the success of his brother within the organization to move up the food chain, too. He had tried to dispossess their local distributor and take over the business… just before Bobby and his colleagues blew the ring and brought them all to trial.

All except one.

It had not been Bobby who shot Theo Newcombe, but he had been the one infiltrating the drug ring and subsequently the reason why Newcombe's brother died.

Now Travis Newcombe was seeking revenge.

Bobby dreaded what Red had in store for him. In his mind's eye he saw Alex, their twins resting in her arms, a bullet hole in her forehead. In another scenario her throat was slit, blood spilling all over their newborns.

Bobby shuddered.

Slowly he knelt down behind Alex. Gently he pulled her to his broad chest and sat on the cushions. She sighed.

"Now, cuff yourself to her," Red ordered. "Left hands together, right hands together. C'mon!"

Bobby had no idea what the bastard was up to. Right then he just was glad that he was together with Alex, holding her in his arms, feeling her slim form lean against his broad chest. She was about to give birth to their twins, their first children, their love children.

"Bobby?" she groaned as he took her right wrist and snapped the metal eight shut around it. "What are you…?" The left closed with a distinctive clicking sound that sent shudders down Alex's spine. "You idiot!" she panted and writhed in his embrace when another contraction hit her back. "Whoaaa!"

Still the phone was ringing. Unnerved by the repeating sound Green stepped over, lifted the receiver and threw it back down on the phone.

"And here I thought you'd be glad to see me," Bobby whispered into her ear.

"I could kill you!" Alex groaned.

"Don't let me stop you…"

Taking that as permission, she tried to swing at him, but having to drag his solid limbs along behind her own slight frame made her movements jerky and uncoordinated and she only succeeded in making his cuff collide with her own forehead.

"You did that on purpose!" she snapped.

"Sure I did. Try again?"

Red and Green got quite a laugh out of their combined clumsiness.

xXx

"What now?" Mike asked. "What are we gonna do now?"

Deakins wished he knew the answer. By the look of them Lieutenant Jaenicke and Sergeant Tippe did not have a bright idea either. They all stared at the monitors where they saw the detectives being dragged back inside of the bank.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"We need to get them out!" Mike yelled. "Don't let the bastards get them!"

"Alpha Two, can you fire?" Tippe asked.

"Negative, sir. They are too far inside from my angle."

"Alpha Three, what about you?"

"Negative. The venetian blinds still are drawn and limiting the view into the room. With the men moving around I don't have anybody in the line of fire."

"We can't just stand and watch!" Olivia panted. "We have to help them!"

Helplessly they watched how Bobby found the cell phone, Elliot got pushed to the ground and then Bobby cuffed himself to Alex.

"There must be something we can do!" Logan grumbled.

"Yes, there is," Deakins said. "We can talk with the freed hostages. Jaenicke?" He saw the lieutenant turn his head to him. "Try to get back in contact with them."

"I will."

"Logan, let's go."

So Mike followed his captain outside. A uniformed officer showed them the way to the bus where the woman and her daughter were being treated by paramedics.

"Ma'am? I'm Captain Deakins, Detective Logan. Can we talk?"

"Yeah," the mother said, her voice shaky but her features set with determination.

"Just give us one moment to get finished," one medic told the captain before he turned to his patient again, "Blood pressure, heart rate and breathing are fine all things considered. Still we would like to take you to the hospital."

"Do we have to?" the woman said. "Michelle's a bit shaky, but I don't think that we need to go to the hospital."

"There's no urgent need to admit you or your daughter. But you should follow up with your regular physician, just in case."

"Okay, thank you."

The medic nodded, packed his bag and left the ambulance to give them space to talk. He and his partner would stay in case they were needed.

"Thank you for getting us out, Captain," the woman said to Deakins.

"You're welcome, Mrs…"

"Brenda Montgomery."

"Mrs. Montgomery, what can you tell us about the situation in the bank?"

"What specifically? I mean, a bunch of people are being held hostage by bank robbers. What more do you want to know?"

"Do you know any of the other hostages?"

"Only Miss Bryson, by sight. I was waiting at her counter when the men drew their weapons."

"You would help us very much if you could tell us everything about the initial moments of the assault."

"There's not much to tell," she sighed, hugging her daughter who was climbing into her lap. "Suddenly a man drew a big gun and fired into the ceiling. He ordered everyone to get down on the ground. That's what we did."

"What else did you see?"

"Not much."

"What did Miss Bryson do?" Deakins tried to direct her to her memories. "Did she go down, too?"

"No, the tellers stayed behind the counters at first."

"Detective Stabler, what did he do?" Mike wanted to know.

"You mean the cop who was on the phone for them?" she asked back. "He… was on the ground, too," she remembered. "I don't think that I saw anyone standing once things settled down. And then… that stupid boy tried to attack one of the men."

"Which boy?" Deakins asked, surprised.

"He said his name is Dustin."

"Dustin Worthington?" Logan pushed for confirmation.

"I think so. Why?"

"The boy actually attacked one of them?" Deakins brought her back on track.

"He tried to, but he was stopped as one of the other hostages jumped at him and held him back. They were fighting. That man… that was your detective."

"So Detective Stabler stopped the boy from attacking them?"

"Right."

Both Deakins and Mike nodded. They had an idea of what happened next now.

"And that's how the robbers found out that Detective Stabler is with the NYPD?" Deakins asked.

"Yes. When he brought the boy down they were fighting. He got hit in the head and was unconscious for a while. When he woke up again he got tied up and separated from us."

"What else do you remember?" Mike threw in.

"That boy needs brain surgery," Mrs. Montgomery snapped. "He tried to sneak out the backdoor. One of the men, I think he's called Green, he noticed him and wanted to shoot him, but the detective saved his life again. Later Red made the boy apologize to him for not appreciating his sacrifices. Then he tied the boy to the stairwell… the right place for him if you ask my opinion. Tied up he can't cause any more trouble."

Her last words she said with unconcealed loathing. The cops were not surprised. Hearing about Dustin Worthington almost causing the death of their colleague filled them with rage, too.

"So the robbers' leader made Dustin apologize to Detective Stabler, is that right?" Deakins asked for confirmation even though they had witnessed that over the surveillance system.

"Yes."

"Okay, Mrs. Montgomery, did you have any contact with other hostages? Can you tell us anything about the situation among them?"

"We were ordered not to talk… and no one was stupid enough to break that rule." Thoughtfully she bit on her lower lip. "If you're asking if someone's close to panicking or something… I don't think so. Everyone seems to be holding up pretty well. I… I'm just not sure about the robbers. They're scary."

As if the cops would not have noticed that.

"Captain Deakins?" an officer addressed him. "You're needed at the command center."

"Okay, I'm coming. Thank you, Mrs. Montgomery."

"I hope I could help."

"You did. Thank you very much." That said Deakins turned and Logan followed him back to the truck.

xXx

Elliot was still lying on his stomach. His position made breathing hard, but he did not dare to ask anything. So far he could endure it. He did not want to annoy Red or Green without good reason.

From where he was lying he could not see Alex but he could hear her strained breathing and Bobby whispering to her. It would not take long now until the babies would come, he was sure of that. So Elliot hoped that Red would keep his promise and release him to let him help her when the time came.

The one person he could see was Dustin Worthington. The boy sat tied to the stairwell's handrail and was sweating. It could not be due to the temperature as that slowly diminished since the air conditioner got turned back on.

_Serves him right,_ Elliot thought. _He could have gotten us all killed. Let him sweat with fear for a while._

For once Elliot did not regret such thoughts. What Dustin had done was irresponsible. He really deserved having a hard time.

"Hey there, Elliot. Are you enjoying your stay?" Red sneered from bending down over him.

_Sure,_ Elliot thought. _I'm hell bent for more._

"If you're not playing by the rules…"

_Oh, right. I have to answer._ "As much as you are," he groaned.

Red snorted derisively.

"I forgot, we have a little joker here."

"Just some gallows humor," Elliot grumbled.

"I see." Red grabbed his right arm and pulled him up. "I'm quite sure that…"

The ringing of the phone interrupted him.

"…the phone soon will ring again." Red chuckled. "Right on time. Let's go." So he shoved Elliot over to the counter and activated the speaker.

"Yeah?" Elliot said.

"This is Douglas Jaenicke," the lieutenant reintroduced himself. "Elliot, what happened?"

"We got nervous due to an overlooked cell phone. The situation is stable now."

"What about Alex, Red? You agreed to let her go."

Elliot waited in vain for Red to prompt. Instead Red pushed his gun against Elliot's head.

"That deal was cancelled when her cell phone went off. Dear Elliot here will help her deliver the babies and if or when you're forthcoming we can talk again about letting her go."

"Red, I would like…"

"I believe that. You'd like to blow our brains out right now, huh? No way. We have the hostages and so we'll give the orders. You won't do anything but follow them or Elliot is the first we'll send to hell. Got me?"

"I understand…" Before Jaenicke could say anything more Red cut the connection.

"So, Elliot," Red snarled close to his ear, now pressing the gun under his chin. "You know the rules. Don't act up when I release you."

"I won't."

"Good." Red put the gun aside and fished for the key. Then he opened Elliot's handcuffs. "Then go, help her."

"I could do with some soft cloths, maybe a sweater or two," Elliot told him, rolling up his sleeves. "Towels, scissors for after…"

"Scissors?" Red laughed out loud. "You really think I'd provide you with a weapon?"

"The umbilical cord will have to be cut," Elliot explained. "Hot water, blankets and…"

"Just get the babies out."

"I'm planning to do that." Elliot stared him right in the eyes, trying to read him. "Hmmm, I'll need something to tie off the cord."

That was when Alex groaned loud with the pain of a new contraction.

"Go help her," Red ordered and pushed Elliot in her direction.

Without hesitation Elliot squatted down in front of her. Karen still sat beside her but did not hold her hand anymore as Alex now pressed Bobby's hands firmly.

"Okay, Alex. We'll help you to undress now, okay?" Elliot said and gestured Karen to assist him. Together they freed Alex of her pants and underpants.

Alex groaned and leaned heavily against Bobby. She pressed even harder when the next contraction made her arch her back.

"It's okay, Alex. I'm here," Bobby murmured, pressing her hands in return. "How far along is she?" he turned to Elliot.

"Far," he replied. Much farther than he had thought, actually. Because when he looked closer at her now he could already see the first baby crown. "It won't take long now. When the next contraction comes you should…"

"Push!" Alex panted. "I know!"

Worriedly Bobby looked at Elliot who ignored him because he concentrated solely on Alex.

"Okay… now push!" Elliot prompted her.

Alex screamed with the strain.

tbc…


	8. Chapter 8

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. :) They're very much appreciated. So you liked the last cliffie? Let's see how you like this one... Enjoy.

**Ch 8**

"We've got a name," Olivia welcomed Deakins and Mike back in the command truck. "Red's real name's Travis Newcombe, forty-two, originally from Massachusetts. He came to New York about twelve years ago and tried to gain ground as a drug dealer."

"Did he serve time?" Deakins asked, sitting down beside Jaenicke.

"Yep," Olivia said, reading out of his file which she had on the monitor. "First he got caught selling weed but he got off on a misdemeanor. He's got one DUI and two assault busts. Finally he served time when he got arrested in the wake of a sting operation conducted by Narcotics. He was charged for criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree and sentenced to five to fifteen years."

"I remember the name Newcombe," Fin growled and turned to Olivia, "Is there a brother mentioned?"

"Yep, Theodor Newcombe, deceased."

"Yeah… guy died during the raid," Fin said.

"Which raid?" Deakins asked.

"Back then Bobby was my partner. He was undercover, infiltrating Roderick Buchannon's gang. His work led to the arrest of Buchannon and twenty-one of his gang members. The Newcombe brothers were two of them. Theo was one of Buchannon's lieutenants and knew he stood to serve hard time if we got a conviction. So he tried to shoot his way out when the bust went down and got himself killed."

"I see," Deakins murmured. "And now his brother Travis lured the undercover cop inside the bank, holding him hostage together with seventeen men and women, among them two more detectives, one of them being in labor. Did I miss something?"

"No, Sir," Mike replied.

"Don't forget the Worthington kid," Jaenicke threw in. "His old man being a multi-millionaire might tempt the bank robbers to demand ransom."

"Who is with Worthington senior?" Deakins asked.

"Two of our officers, Sergeants Marks and Sparks," the negotiator told him. "Sparks called me ten minutes ago to let me know that daddy's going nuts and that they didn't get any call."

"Okay…" Deakins said. "When did Newcombe get released?"

"Oh, right… um, seven months ago," Olivia replied.

"Barek, Logan, you two go and find out who he socialized with in Rikers and who he's hanging out with now. Start with his PO and keep us informed regularly."

"Alright," Mike confirmed. "Barek?"

She followed right on his heels.

"Maybe we should go in now that they're all focused on Eames giving birth," Tippe suggested when the door closed behind the two detectives.

"What? Now?" Deakins was stunned. "I don't think that that would be a good idea."

"The robbers are distracted by the birth," Tippe explained. "They won't know what's happening until they're overpowered."

"They just pulled the hostages back inside," Jaenicke threw in. "They are alerted and more on the edge than before."

"Lieutenant Jaenicke is right," Deakins added. "If we go in now the hostage takers might shoot right into the group of hostages in panic or out of spite… just to take as many with them as possible."

"Hmmm." Tippe still thought that his idea was good, but he did not want to argue further.

xXx

"Oh… my… Goooood!"

Alex screamed her lungs out as she pushed once more. For some unknown reason the crowning baby did not go through her opening no matter how hard she pushed. So she was writhing in her husband's arms. Even in her deranged state she knew that he was close to a panic while she was convinced that she would not be able to keep pushing for much longer. Given the chance she would have fallen asleep in seconds.

But the babies would not let her. They wanted out… if only she knew how to do that.

"C'mon, Alex!" Elliot urged her. "Just one more push and you'll have it. C'mon!"

Actually he feared the worst. Watching her he received the impression as if she was about to collapse. So the worst he could picture right now was that she needed a C-section.

"Stop screaming!" Green bellowed and was slapped on the arm by Red who eyed the small group intently. Both men knew that she would not be able to stop. She was in a pain the men did not even want to try and imagine.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Hostage takers as well as hostages winced when they heard her squeal.

"Breathe, Alex," Bobby whispered close to her ear. "Easy. Breathe. In… out… in…"

"Shut up!" she panted. "I know that I have to breeaaathe!"

Another contraction hit her slight body. Alex clawed at Bobby's shirt, balling it up in her hands. Seeing her knuckles shine white Bobby was glad that his shirt was all she gripped. Both had wrapped their arms around her petite form and she leaned forward over them, gasping for breath repeatedly before she pressed again, accompanying her efforts to get the child out with bloodcurdling screams.

"Yeah, Alex!" Elliot shouted. "That's it! The head's through. C'mon!"

Alex had not felt it. All she felt was pain, not where exactly it came from. Karen still was beside her, wiping her forehead with a wet cloth. Alex's hair hung down in a sweat-wet mess. How could she push even once more? She was so damned tired.

But when the next contraction came she tensed up again, curling up over their arms, feeling Bobby hug her strongly, his pressure adding to her own and suddenly the pain ebbed away with a single outcry.

"You did it!"

Madly Elliot grinned up at her, but she did not see it because she slumped back against Bobby, breathing heavily. Then they heard the first cry of life.

"Did you hear what Elliot said?" Bobby gasped between kissing Alex on the head. "You did it. We got a baby!"

His excitement made her open her eyes. Tiredly she looked up at her husband.

"It's a girl," Elliot panted, wrapping the little squirming human into a towel Yellow had gotten from the staff's kitchen earlier. "Here."

Alex could barely look at her baby girl Elliot held out to her. She was so exhausted and tired. How she should deliver the second child was beyond her.

"Frances," she murmured and sank back down against Bobby. "Her name's Frances." Tiredly she looked up at her partner whose surprise clearly was readable in his features.

"P-perfect," he stuttered. With wonder he gazed down at their little girl who would from now on carry the name of his mother.

xXx

Down a narrow hall Mike and Carolyn walked to Jeremiah Gordon's office. The woman behind the reception desk just asked a tall man with a goatie, a bald head and multiple tattoos to sit down in the small waiting area.

"Hello, Detectives," the woman greeted even before they could show their badges. "You want to talk with Mr. Gordon, right?"

"Yep." Mike flashed his badge anyway.

"I'm working for a parole officer," the blonde chuckled as she took in Mike's confused expression. "I recognize cops when I see them." She smirked. "Mr. Gordon's talking with a client. He should be finished in a few minutes. Can I offer you some coffee while you're waiting?"

"Coffee would be great," Mike smiled, slightly leaning on her counter. "Thank you, Adele," he read from the name tag on her desk.

"You'll get coffee… and nothing more," she replied, getting up and filling two mugs with a dark brew she had made with the machine in her office corner.

Carolyn rolled her eyes at her partner. Mike flirted with almost every skirt he met.

"There you go." Adele put the two mugs on the counter and sat back down to answer an incoming call.

"Thank you," Carolyn said, taking her coffee and sitting down in a free chair.

Mike remained standing and watched Adele working, sipping at his coffee from time to time. His winning smile never left his features not even when she scowled at him.

"You don't know when you have to give up, huh?" Adele asked.

"Nope."

The door to Gordon's sanctum opened.

"Time for you to go," Adele smirked at Mike and gestured to the door.

Both detectives entered the office and Mike dropped in the chair opposite the PO's desk. Carolyn stood behind him.

"Detective Barek, my partner, Detective Logan," she said. "We're here for information about Travis Newcombe."

"Newcombe, hm hmmm…" Gordon stood and pulled a drawer open to search the file. "Well, Detectives… Travis Newcombe has been reliable so far. He did not get in any trouble and came to all his appointments."

"Okay… did I miss the punchline?" Mike asked. "What's wrong with Newcombe?"

"Nothing. As far as I can tell," Gordon shrugged and slumped back in his chair. "There've been no complaints. He never missed out at work, he came to his appointments, he stayed clean."

"Are random drug tests part of his probation?" Carolyn wanted to know.

"Yep, because he didn't just sell but was using, too." He looked at the file. "Nothing. He's clean."

"Do you know any of his friends?" Mike prodded. "Does he hang out with the wrong people?"

"I can't keep an eye on them twenty-four/seven," Gordon grumbled. "He would not tell me if he was friends with other ex-cons and I didn't hear about any contacts to his old circle of friends." Suspiciously he eyed the detectives. "Why do you ask? What do ya think he did?"

"Something that will blow his probation and earn him life in prison without the possibility of parole." Mike smirked. "Where's he working?"

"Callahan Constructions," Gordon said and scribbled the address on a slip of paper. "There you go," he held it out to Mike who took it.

"Thanks so much," Mike smirked, shrugging his eyebrows. "Anything else you might want to add?"

"Nope. Good luck with your investigation."

xXx

"She's perfect," Bobby murmured, looking over Alex's shoulder down at the baby girl in their arms. She was silent now, worn out from getting born. Out of sleepy eyes Frances looked up at her parents.

"Her… twin wants out," Alex moaned as she felt the next contraction hit her back. "Oooh! Karen?"

"Yes, Alex, I'm here," the other woman said. "Should I take her?"

"Yeah."

Alex let go only reluctantly as did Bobby, but they both knew that they needed to concentrate on the second baby now.

"I hope it will go faster now," Alex whined. "I'm not sure if I can go through such hard labor again."

"You were awesome, Alex," Bobby tried to reassure her. "You'll do great with the second baby, too."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yep," he said confidently.

"You'll buy… me dinner if you're not right," she growled and curled up with another contraction. "Whoooooaaaah!"

"I'll buy you dinner even if I'm right," Bobby promised. "You've more than earned it."

"You're doing great, Alex," Elliot praised, gently stroking her thigh right above the knee. "You and the baby will be alright." Seeing the hints of the next labor-pain he urged, "Now push, Alex. Push!"

"What… do you… think I'm trying… to do?!" Alex gasped. Behind her Bobby was breathing heavily, setting the rhythm for her.

"I know… that Nelda… gave the advice… to breathe with me… during the course, but…"

"Easy, Alex," Bobby murmured. "You're doing great. The baby will come soon, you'll see."

"Oh, Goood!"

The next labor-pain pushed the baby downwards where it could not go through the small opening. With each following pressure the head pushed against the hole, making Alex scream over and over again until her voice was breaking.

"Now! Push again, Alex!" Elliot yelled. "It's coming! It's coming!"

"Liar!" she croaked.

"I'm not lying. You're doing wonderful! Push, Alex! Push! Just once! Push!"

"I can't." Alex's voice was wavering. She shuddered with exhaustion. "I… it's… hopeless."

"No, it's not!" Elliot insisted. "Just push one more time." He saw her eyes cloud with pain. "Now, Alex! Push!"

It was an enormous effort for the weakened detective, but with Bobby's help she pushed a last time. She did not hear Elliot's outcry when the second baby slid into his hands. Everything around her blurred and she sank into Bobby's embrace unconsciously.

xXx

"The babies…" Olivia's voice was shaking. She stared at the monitor where Elliot just lifted the second baby in his arms and wrapped it in a towel. "They've got the babies."

Deakins stepped behind her, bending forward to take a closer look.

"Alex seems to be beat," he murmured.

"She gave birth to twins," Olivia said. "One baby's hell. I don't want to try and imagine to have a second right after the other."

"At least you'd only have to go through labor once," Fin quipped and she scowled at him.

On the screen they could not see details, but still they could tell that Alex did not look good.

"She needs a doctor," Deakins stated. "Jaenicke, try to contact them again. Maybe you can convince them."

"Okay," the lieutenant agreed, reaching out for his equipment.

They heard the phone in the bank ring, and ring, and ring. Finally Green approached the counter. But once more he just lifted the receiver to let it drop again.

"What are our options?" Deakins asked. "Can we go in? How can we minimize the risk for the hostages?"

"We shouldn't go in now," Tippe said. "The situation is unstable enough as it is. If we try to intervene now we might get some of the hostages killed."

Deakins sighed. It was not the first time he heard that and he feared that could become inevitable. Knowing that Bobby, Alex and Elliot would be the first targets would not make his decision any easier.

"I'm scared for Alex," he admitted, speaking more to himself than to the others. "I'm scared for all of them in there. Was a psychological evaluation part of Newcombe's file?"

"Yep," Olivia confirmed, "but it didn't reveal anything helpful. He was not conspicuous in any way. A model prisoner."

"So what are we gonna do now?" Tippe demanded to know. "Wait until they get bored enough to let them go?"

"I don't think that that's on the list of possibilities," Deakins grumbled.

xXx

"Alex?" Bobby's voice broke with anxiety as he noticed that she lost consciousness. "Alex! Wake up, Alex! Please, wake up!"

"What's wrong?" Elliot demanded to know, his voice carrying his own nervousness. He placed the little boy in Karen's arms and turned to Alex. "Alex? Can you hear me?" he asked, reaching out to touch her cheek.

She was incredibly cold. Her hair and skin were coated with sweat. Feeling her pulse Elliot noticed that it was low and irregular.

"God, Alex! Wake up, baby," Bobby pleaded with her, stroking over her hair. Her arm was dangling in the cuff.

"What's up?" Red growled.

"She's unconscious," Bobby moaned. "Please take the cuffs off her! She should lie down. And she needs a doctor!"

"She'll do fine," Red replied.

"She won't if she doesn't get medical attention soon," Elliot said. He still felt for her pulse and sensed how it became weaker. "The second baby was too much for her. She belongs in a hospital. She should've been there already in the first place."

"So what?"

"So what?" Elliot snapped, shooting up from his squatting position, facing the bank robbers' leader. "So you should do the right thing now and let her and the babies leave!"

"Since when do you have anything to say here?" Red snarled, raising his weapon to push the muzzle under Elliot's chin. The detective remained unimpressed.

"Since I'm the only one who has even the slightest idea what to do with her. I can't help her now. She needs a doctor. Now!"

"Women have kids all the time," Red growled "She'll be fine."

"No, she won't. She's losing too much blood and is weakened from giving birth. I'm not a doctor, but even I know that if she doesn't get to a hospital in the next half our or so she'll be dead." A strangled gasp behind him made him aware of Bobby's growing desperation. "Release them from the cuffs and let Alex and the babies go. I'll take her outside."

"No."

"You should think about it thoroughly," Elliot said. "But don't hesitate too long, or you'll have a murder on your hands."

Red made up his mind quickly. Still pressing the gun under Elliot's jaw he pulled out the keys and gave them to Bobby.

"Uncuff yourself and get away from her," he ordered.

Bobby shook his head violently. "No, I can't leave her."

"You'll step back from her or she'll die here and now." He pointed the gun at them so that a bullet would have to pass through Alex in order to find its mark in Bobby's chest.

Reluctantly and eagerly at the same time Bobby fumbled with the handcuffs. He did not want to let go of Alex but he was eager for her to get out of the bank. He glanced at their babies. Frances lay on the floor beside Karen who held her little twin brother in her arms.

When the cuffs were open he gently laid Alex down on the cushions. She was so pale. Was she still breathing? He bowed down to check on her.

"Bobby?" she suddenly moaned barely audible. "B-bobby?"

"I'm here," he said, taking her cold hand. Never before had her seen his partner so fragile like that. It scared the shit out of him.

"Let go of her!" Red bellowed. "Go to the stairs and cuff yourself to the handrail!"

"I need to help her," Bobby said. "She..."

"She has Elliot and Karen to help her," Red snarled. "Now go and do as I say before I change my mind and blow her brains out."

That threat did not fail it's effect. Bobby stood and slowly, his hands slightly raised, he went to the staircase. There he was about to snap the cuff around a rail's bar when Red stopped him, "No, Bobby. Higher. Lift your arms over your head and close the cuffs there."

So Bobby had no other choice than to follow his order. Icy chills shot down his spine when the cuffs ratcheted shut around the bars.

Immobilized like that he was completely at the mercy of Travis Newcombe and his accomplices. Seeing Red's evil smirk he knew for sure that the man amused himself splendidly.

"Okay, Elliot," Red said. "Tell the cops that you'll bring her and the kids out. They can meet you right outside the door."

"Okay."

"If they try anything a hostage will die."

"I'll let them know." Elliot felt far more queasy than he looked. His controlled façade was exactly that, a façade.

Red herded him over to the telephone.

"Douglas?" Elliot said when Red turned the speaker on. "It's Elliot."

"Yeah, Elliot. Tell me what's going on."

"Alex gave birth to her twins," Elliot explained. "They need medical attention. Red is letting me bring them out."

"That's great. We have an ambulance here. The medics will come and get her."

"I'll bring her out. The medics can take over right outside the door."

"When?"

"Now."

Red cut the connection before Jaenicke could reply anything more. Pushing the detective back toward Alex he told him, "You'll bring her and the babies out and that's all you'll do. If you're not back in a minute your faithful nurse is dead."

_Nurse?_ Elliot looked at the two women on the ground. Karen still held the baby girl in her arms. Right then she glanced up at Elliot and gave him a nervous half-smile. _God, he means Karen, calling her nurse because she helped to deliver the kids._

Even though he felt like anything but smiling he tried to reassure her with a broad smile that also reached his stunning blue eyes.

"I don't think that I can carry them all together," Elliot said. "I could take Alex first and then bring the kids out."

"Okay."

Elliot was surprised that Red agreed so readily. It made him suspicious. He dreaded that the man was up to something evil.

So the detective bent down to pick Alex up. When he put her right arm behind his neck she stirred. Tiredly she looked up at him.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"You're leaving," Elliot told her and lifted her in his arms. She was surprisingly light.

"Frances? John?"

_She must mean the babies,_ Elliot thought. "They'll go with you."

"Bobby?" she asked, her voice trembling. She tried to search for him, but she was too weak to turn in Elliot's hold.

"Your husband will stay!" Red grumbled. "And if you don't go now, Elliot, she and the kids will stay, too."

"Okay," Elliot mumbled, tightened his grip on Alex and slowly went to the door.

"You really think that's a good idea?" Green snapped. "We're giving away our best leverage."

"That's my decision," Red bellowed. "Go back to your position! Go!"

"You'll regret it," Green spat. "Don't come and say I didn't warn you."

"Go," Red said to Elliot.

The detective did not need to be told twice, but Alex squirmed in his hold.

"My babies," she whined, reaching out for them with her free arm.

"I'll get them as soon as you're out," Elliot told her.

"I can hold them," Alex said. "Give me my babies."

So Karen stood up and placed Frances on Alex's stomach.

"I don't know," Elliot said skeptically. "Are you sure that you can hold them? Don't let us take any risk with the babies. I'll get them as soon as you're out, Alex."

But Alex already held on strongly to the little girl so that Elliot had no other choice than take them both to the door. No one followed them. When he looked over his shoulder he saw that Karen had picked up the little boy. She looked at the leaving detective expectantly.

With some difficulty Elliot managed to open the door. Outside two medics were waiting with a stretcher and so he put Alex down on the gurney. The men strapped her in and were about to leave when Elliot stopped them, "I'll go and get the second twin, too."

Without another word Elliot returned inside to get the baby boy, but when he left the bank the second time the paramedics were not the only ones waiting for him. From the sides came SWAT members, taking his arm and pushing him aside.

"Don't!" he yelled. "I can't go with you! I have to go back inside!"

"You'll stay," the team leader told him. "Give us information about the situation in the bank."

"In about thirty seconds an innocent woman will die if I don't return," Elliot spat, squirming in the sergeant's grip. "Let go of me!"

"We can't let you go back. You should be glad that…"

He could not say more because his jaw collided painfully with Elliot's fist. The detective punched him a second time and threw the stunned man in the way of his partners. Then he sprinted for the door. When he burst into the counter area he saw Red aim with his gun at the back of the kneeling Karen's head.

"Noooo!"

xXx

"Easy," one paramedic tried to soothe Alex who squirmed on the stretcher restlessly.

They had strapped her in to keep her safe on the gurney during transport, the girl still resting in her arms while one of the medics held her boy. An IV supplied her with fluids and sensors monitored her blood pressure and heart rate.

"Bobby," she gasped tonelessly. "I want Bobby, but he's… he's still in the bank." Her gasps changed to sobs as she realized that her beloved husband was in the hands of hostage takers. He had surrendered himself in order to get her to safety and she would have loved to kick his ass for that.

"Ooooh," she moaned. Once more she felt a familiar pain in her back. "Oh, God. Why's it hurting again?" Alex was confused. "I have my twins… what? Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"

"What's wrong?" a medic asked.

"Pain!" she gasped, trying to curl up. "In… my… baaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Blood pressure's falling," one paramedic yelled.

tbc…


	9. Chapter 9

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews. :) I love you all. Thanks to _bammi1_ and _JO_ for their help. Enjoy.

**Ch 9**

"Alex!" Olivia gasped. "Hope she'll be alright."

Olivia was not the only one who was nervous given her fellow detective's release from the bank. What made her even more nervous was that her own husband, Elliot, would bring her out.

"You won't let him go back in, will you?" she asked Deakins. "SWAT will hold him back when he turns, right?"

Deakins and Jaenicke exchanged glances.

"No, Olivia. We won't allow him to return. We also need his statement. He can tell us first hand what happened. He'll help us."

Nodding Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll go check on EJ," she said and turned to leave the command center. "I'll be right back."

Once she left the truck she walked past the cordon and around the corner. Down the street was a diner the police used to take care of the hostages' relatives who found their way to the bank. Here officers questioned wives and husbands, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers as well as further staff of the bank. Olivia met Maureen in a booth in the back of the diner.

"How's it going?" Maureen burst out. "Is it over? Did you get him out?"

"Not yet, Maureen," Olivia said and took her son from the young woman. On impulse she said, "Thank you soooo much, Maureen. Thanks for your help."

"He's my half brother, Liv," Maureen said and almost chuckled. "There's no way I could leave anyway. Taking care of EJ's the least I could do."

"Anything new?"

Olivia turned to find Kathy Stabler along with her daughter Elizabeth standing beside the table. For a second Olivia was startled before she blushed with the realization that she should not be surprised to see Elliot's ex-wife.

"Not yet, Kathy," Olivia told her. "There was another contact with the negotiator, but we'll have to wait and see how it develops."

"Wait," Kathy sighed. "Why do we always have to wait?"

It was a rhetorical question Olivia could not answer, but she knew one thing for sure: Now she knew exactly what waiting could feel like.

Assuming that EJ might be hungry she opened her blouse and offered him her breast. Giggling happily he slapped her with his tiny hands before he found the bud he searched. Soon he suckled gladly.

Olivia smiled sadly at him. _You have no idea where your dad is. That makes you what, lucky or unlucky?_

By then Kathy and Liz sat in the booth, too, and Olivia was reprimanding herself about what a poor detective she really was as she did not notice the second coffee mug and lemonade glass that could not belong to Maureen. Certainly they were waiting here for a while already.

"I can't stay too long," Olivia said. "I need to go back to the control center."

"You won't hold back information on us, will you?" Kathy asked.

Olivia's head shot up and her incredulous look told Kathy all she needed to know.

"I'm sorry, Olivia. That was a dumb question. I don't know what came over me."

"You're worried for Elliot," Olivia suggested. "That's natural. We're all worried. For all of them."

EJ seemed to be sated so Olivia buttoned up her blouse and gave her son back to Maureen.

"You're already going again?" Maureen asked as she took the baby.

"I need to get back. I'll let you know as soon as I know more."

"Olivia!" Kathy shouted as the detective got up and started to walk away. She stopped and turned back to her. "Please. You will come, won't you? Or Don. Just don't… I mean…"

"We'll let you know personally, Kathy," Olivia confirmed. "As soon as we know more."

And with that she left the diner and returned to the cordoned off area. Her badge gave her access and she waited near a police car. She watched two medics shove a stretcher toward the entrance. SWAT members approached the door, ducked down and close to the wall, from both sides.

And then she saw Elliot.

He carried Alex in his arms while she held one of the babies. With hammering heart she watched how her husband laid the exhausted detective on the gurney and walked back to the door. Just a moment later he was back with the second baby.

Pride burst Olivia's chest. Elliot brought them out safe and he would be safe, too.

Like in slow motion Olivia registered what happened next.

Elliot turned around and was about to walk back inside when SWAT members grabbed him. He struggled. Then he punched one of them right in the face, twisted out of their hold, and darted through the door.

"Elliot!" Olivia heard herself scream. "Noooo!"

xXx

Going into labor once again Alex did not notice that the medic injected her IV. All she knew was that she was in pain. It started in her back and ripped her body apart as she struggled to press the baby out.

_What baby?_ Alex wondered briefly. _I was expecting twins!_

"Aaaaaaah," she screamed. Slowly the pain ebbed away. "Remind me to shoot my gynecologist for not seeing that the shadow on the scan was a third kid!"

"I will," one of the medics smirked and another chuckled.

"She won't need a C-section, will she?"

"Nah, I don't think so. It rather looks as if we'd get it the natural way… now!"

If she would have had a gun Alex would have happily shot them. As she had no weapon she could do nothing but scream and curl up with the next contraction.

Only minutes later she heard the medics cheer.

"A boy!"

"It's a boy!"

Alex dropped back down on the stretcher. She knew that two kids would already be a strain, but three? _Don't think about that now._ Exhausted she drifted off to sleep.

xXx

"Nooooo!" Elliot screamed.

His eyes met Karen's which were widened with fear.

With terror.

Then he looked at Red whose eyes were sparkling with fury and challenge.

"Don't," Elliot gasped. "Let her go."

"What kept you so long?" Red asked, never moving the weapon away from Karen's head. She knelt at his feet, her back to him, and he held her shoulder with his left hand while his right gripped the gun. Her hands were shaking and her slightly opened lips trembling. Eyes firmly pressed shut she just breathed and waited.

"SWAT members," Elliot said hoarsely.

"They made trouble?"

"Didn't want to let me come back. Just doing their jobs." Elliot's heart still beat in his throat and it would continue like that as long as Red threatened Karen.

"I'm glad you solved the problem. I'm sure Karen's glad, too. Aren't you, Karen?"

"Hm hmm," she murmured, never opening her eyes.

"How did you solve it?" Red wanted to know.

"I… punched him."

Red chuckled at Elliot's obvious discomfort. "And then?"

"Then what?" Elliot was confused. "I came back in. Let her go."

"Not yet," Red said.

He let go of Karen's shoulder, though, and picked something from his belt. Elliot did not react fast enough when Red threw the item to him. It touched his hand when he tried to catch it, but dropped on the floor.

There lay the handcuffs at his feet.

Slowly, his gaze never leaving Red, Elliot squatted down. Searchingly his hand slid over the ground until he felt the metal. With the cuffs in hand he stood up again.

"Good," Red smirked. "Put them on."

_Shit_.

Elliot's stomach dropped. Yes, it had to be expected, but still he could not say that he was comfortable wearing handcuffs.

How should he be?

Taking a deep breath Elliot raised both hands a bit to reveal how he snapped the first half around his left wrist. With a ratcheting sound it closed.

"Turn around," Red ordered.

Still holding Red's gaze Elliot just breathed for a moment. He did not want to, but he had no choice. Resigning himself to the fact that he might endanger the hostages if he did not follow the command he turned equally slowly. Doing so he put his arms behind his back. Then he took the cuff and closed it around his right wrist.

Red did not acknowledge him.

But Elliot heard the snap when he secured his gun. Then he heard his steps come closer. When Red grabbed the chain of the handcuff and pulled on it to make sure that he actually had immobilized himself Elliot could have cried out loud. Instead he sucked in air through his nose when Red pressed the halves just another notch tighter.

Taking him by the shoulder Red turned Elliot around to face him. A wicked grin played around his lips as he said, "I like cops in handcuffs."

_I bet you do,_ Elliot thought. He saw Red turn his head and followed his gaze.

"Especially him," Red added, staring directly at Bobby.

xXx

"Why the fuck did he go back?" Tippe blurted out.

"Because he knew that Karen would be dead by now if he stayed," Jaenicke told him as if he spoke with a child. "He saved her life."

"And still is a hostage."

"Yeah. But, at least for now, he has a certain status as negotiator." _And hopefully gains a bit of safety out of it,_ he thought, not daring to say it aloud.

"So what do we do now?" Tippe demanded to know.

"We should give them some time," Deakins said, looking at Jaenicke.

"Yep," the negotiator agreed. "They let Alex and the babies go. They still have the food and blankets. Let's give them some time."

"To do what? Make themselves comfortable?" Tippe did not see their point. "It could be days until they come out. We can't let them do that. We need to end it."

"At what cost?" Jaenicke challenged him. "One hostage? Two? Maybe even five?"

"I never said anything about hostages."

"No, you didn't. And that's worrying me. Negotiations are always about the hostages, they are always about all people in a hostage situation. Our aim is to get everyone out safe, including the hostage takers. Negotiating takes time, hours or days, that's not important. Only the goal counts."

While he was talking Jaenicke grew a little agitated. He knew his job. Ignorance led to mistakes. They could not afford making mistakes.

"Goren is a good negotiator, too," Deakins threw in. "It's quite possible that he can talk them into surrender."

"But we should not count on it," Jaenicke rationalized. "He still is a hostage as well as the others."

There was someone knocking on the door of the truck and then a uniformed officer put his head in, asking, "Captain Deakins?"

"Yes?"

"The ambulance now is on its way to the hospital," he reported. "Before they left Detective Eames gave birth to a third child."

"Third time's a charm," Tippe retorted.

Deakins glared at him.

"I, for my part, am glad that we could get her and the babies out," Jaenicke told them. "Let's concentrate on freeing the others."

xXx

Elliot sat on the floor, his wrists still handcuffed behind his back. He watched Karen get up as she was ordered and walk to the box Bobby brought in earlier. She got out sandwiches and started to distribute them to the hostages. One woman tentatively raised her hand like she was in school.

"What?" Green bellowed. "No talking!"

"Green. I want to know what she has to say," Red said calmly. "What is it, lady?"

"I… n-need to go to… the restroom," she stuttered.

"Grey will accompany you," Red told her.

Rather hesitantly the woman got up. She looked around at the people sitting around her. Red seemed to read her mind.

"Everyone can go… one after the other." Picking up a sandwich Red walked over to the stairs where Bobby was cuffed to the handrail. Red unwrapped the bread and stuffed it unceremoniously into Bobby's mouth.

The detective did not struggle. Actually he was hungry. So he took the bite and chewed. As soon as he swallowed Red put the bread in again. After feeding the cop Red did the same with Worthington junior before he returned to the others without exchanging a word with Bobby who stared after him with concern.

Bobby's heartbeat had slowed down over the last half hour. Alex was out. She was safe and so were their kids. No matter what happened now, Bobby would be ready. The pain in his upward stretched arms and his back was a small price to pay for his family's survival. Bobby searched Elliot's gaze but could not find it. His SVU colleague looked in the other direction, watching Karen. Right then she handed out the last sandwich. The rest would be for Red and his men. They were not eating yet, guarding their captives. So Karen sat down with a bread and a can of soda of her own and began to eat.

Elliot, helpless with his bound hands, could only watch. Suddenly Red sat down beside him.

"Here, Elliot," Red said. "Have something to eat."

The sandwich hovered directly in front of Elliot's face. As much as he hated the thought of eating out of their captor's hand Elliot knew that it might be his only chance to actually get something, and Red confirmed it when he said, "You either get fed by me or you won't get anything at all."

So Elliot bit the bullet and took a bite of the sandwich.

"Good boy," Red teased as Elliot chewed.

Frowning deeply Elliot choked the food down. "What happens next?"

Red shrugged. "You're too curious, Elliot."

"Why?" Elliot grumbled dryly. "Because I'd like to know how long my life-expectancy is?"

That made Red chuckle. When Elliot opened his mouth again to explain further he stuffed the sandwich in like he did with Bobby.

"Let me tell you something," Red whispered close to Elliot's ear. "I don't want to kill anyone, but I will if I have no choice. You don't doubt that, do you?"

Still chewing Elliot shook his head.

"Good. Because it might be you."

Elliot blanched at that directness and the sandwich got stuck in his throat. Swallowing hard he forced it down. It gave him the hiccups and he coughed violently, spewing bits of bread and cheese.

"Forgot to chew?" Red smirked. He gestured Karen to come and help as he patted Elliot's back with his other hand. She did as ordered and wiped away the remains with a Kleenex. Elliot looked chagrined.

Then Red offered Elliot the rest of the sandwich to take another bite. He grinned even broader as Elliot had his sandwich out of his hand. "What do _you_ think, Elliot?" Red murmured, "Will you get out of here again?"

Elliot did not answer. He did not know what to say. Even though he wanted to trust Jaenicke and his team, Deakins, Cragen and all the others outside he could not help but be scared. He felt his status as their mouthpiece waver and wondered how long he would survive if they had no use for him anymore. The same applied to Bobby and he glanced nervously in his colleague's direction.

"What's wrong, Elliot?" Red asked. "Scared?"

"Why should I be?" Elliot replied sarcastically.

Red laughed. Instead of an answer he pushed the last bite of sandwich into Elliot's mouth and stood up. Elliot watched him go with mixed emotions. Even though Red seemed to be the most stable of the men Elliot did not doubt for a second that he was dangerous. Very dangerous.

For now Elliot could not do anything. Right now it did not seem to be necessary either. After they had eaten one hostage after the other was accompanied to the restroom. Slowly they all got settled in the group on the ground again and fell silent while the hostage takers had their sandwiches. They ate one at a time so that they could not get too distracted. When everyone was seated again silence fell.

And into that silence rang the phone.

Expectantly Elliot looked up at Red, but the leader did not turn to him. Instead he went to the counter and picked the phone up himself.

"This is Douglas Jaenicke. Who am I talking with?" the negotiator asked when he realized that someone else was on the line.

"Call me Red," the leader replied. For a moment he listened. "No, Doug. We're okay for now. You just take care that no one loses his nerves outside and everyone will be alright."

_Now Jaenicke will ask for their demands,_ Elliot thought. _They need to determine what the men want and trade the requests for hostages._

"No, no, no," Red just scolded. "Everything in its own time. We'll let you know." With that he ended the call.

Awkward silence lay on the people in the bank. No one tried to focus on Red except his men, and Bobby and Elliot.

"What now, Travis?" Bobby suddenly asked. "What's your plan?"

"You think I would tell you?" Red shot back. "You better keep your mouth shut."

"And I think we should talk about it," Bobby insisted.

Elliot held his breath at his colleague's bravery. Or stupidity? He saw Red frown and slowly walk over to the stairs again.

"What do you want to talk about, _Bobby_?" Red wanted to know, his voice a low snarl now. "About you killing my brother? You'll pay for that. That's the only reason you're here. I guess I should have killed your broad, but I think it will be even harder for you to go knowing that your kids will grow up without you. Dying would be easier if you've got nothing left, huh?"

Bobby choked on those words.

"Cat got your tongue?" Red teased. "Even better."

"Um… Red?" Yellow tried to interrupt.

"What?" barked Red, not amused by the disturbance.

"I… you should have a look at this."

Scowling Red followed Yellow to one of the ventilation shafts. His face turned red with rage as he saw what Yellow had discovered. "Search the bank," he ordered.

Yellow and Black were the ones checking on every opening they could find. When they returned to Red they could point out four more cameras to him. Red shivered with rage. He was still standing in the focus of the air shaft. Now he stared at it challengingly.

"You spied on us with cameras?" he said directly into the lens's opening. "Your fault, your responsibility."

And Red started to walk through the bank, fast, stopping only to break open shaft lids and get out the hidden cameras. Once pulled out they lost their contact and were useless. Then only the one Yellow had spotted first was left, but before Red destroyed it, too, he went to the group of hostages and grabbed one of the men, roughly yanking him up.

"Nooo!" yelled Bobby and Elliot at the same time.

"No?!" Red screamed back. "Why not?"

He held his gun in hand, pressing the muzzle to the man's head.

While Bobby was helplessly cuffed to the stair's handrail Elliot scrambled to his feet and stepped up to Red.

"It's not worth killing him!" Elliot said, desperately thinking about what to say. "You have every right to be angry, but that's not the solution. You won't impress anyone with killing that man."

"Oh, really?" Red snapped. "I think I would."

"Don't be stupid. You kill him now they'll never let you walk out of here."

Snorting and pouting Red pushed the man back down who slumped and started to cry pitifully.

"You know what, Elliot?" Red snarled, grabbing Elliot's arm instead. "You just volunteered."

Elliot gasped. His insides constricted and his eyes widened with unconcealed panic as he was dragged towards the camera.

xXx

"What the fuck?"

Jaenicke pushed the button for the direct phone connection and the telephone in the bank started to ring.

It was ignored.

On the monitors they could only see a portion of the bank's interior. They had only one camera left.

"Pick up the phone!" Jaenicke said. "Pick up the damned phone! C'mon!"

But Red did not react to his pleas. He could not hear him. And even if he could, he would not have reacted.

Grabbing a megaphone Jaenicke jumped up from his chair and burst out of the truck. He dialed from his cell phone and let it ring. Nothing.

"Red!" he shouted in the megaphone. "Red! We need to talk! Please pick up the phone."

Nothing.

"You're right. Cameras were a bad idea! Let us talk about it!"

In the truck Deakins, Tippe and the other cops watched helplessly how Elliot was pulled up in front of the camera. Red forced him down on his knees. When he made him bow his head and pressed the gun to it the cops held their breaths.

Then a single shot shattered the tense silence.

tbc…


	10. Chapter 10

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: Thanks for your reviews. :) I'm sorry for the long wait. No excuses, though. My muse went missing and returned only reluctantly. I hope that it'll get better now, but who knows... Thanks to _bammi1_ and _JO_ for their help. Enjoy.

**Ch 10**

_No!_

That was all Olivia could think. No. No. No!

She was not the only one.

On a monitor they saw Jaenicke stand in the street in front of the bank. He stood motionless, still shocked from what had happened.

Still rang the shot in their ears.

Now a SWAT member came running and pulled Jaenicke back to the truck. Shaken out of his trance like that he climbed back in and settled in his chair. For a moment he sat there equally motionless before he put the headset back on. He opened the channels to the SWAT team.

"We have no sight into the bank," McLeod answered his request. "We're blind."

They were blind.

They were deaf.

They were cut off as long as Red would not allow contact.

"We have to go in," Tippe said.

"If we go in now it'll end in a massacre," Deakins thundered. "Do you want them to kill all the hostages?! Go ahead!"

"Captain Deakins is right," Jaenicke agreed. "We need to get contact back."

"And I don't think that we'll get them to talk again."

"We have to try!"

"But what if they won't talk?!"

"They will!" Jaenicke stared at the others rather stubbornly. "They want to get out of there so they'll need to talk with us. They don't talk, they will die."

"We should go in now before they lose their heads and kill the hostages!" lieutenant DiSalvo joined in the discussion.

"I don't think that we need to!" Jaenicke yelled to make himself heard.

"But they shot a hostage!"

That silenced them all for a moment.

"We don't know if he is dead," Jaenicke then told them. "We need confirmation of Stabler's death first before we make a decision we might regret."

"He's got a point there," Deakins said.

Olivia could not stand it anymore. She had to get out. So she retreated from the discussion and left the truck. Outside she took a deep breath and then another before she turned and went a few steps to a crate on the sidewalk. She sat down on it and before she knew what happened she was crying, tears streaming down her face.

"Olivia?"

Anxiety waved in that voice. Olivia's insides constricted when she recognized it as Kathy's. She had to collect herself. Gasping for breath she wiped the tears away and straightened up.

"Olivia, what happened? We heard about a shot being fired. What's going on? Please, tell me."

With every word she sounded more urgent and Olivia wished she knew what to tell her.

"Nothing's confirmed yet," she finally gasped tonelessly. "It's possible that someone got shot, but we don't know it for sure."

"Who?"

_Yeah. I knew you'd ask that._ Olivia's heart beat frantically. She could feel it thump against her chest from inside. _God! What should I tell her? We don't know what really happened. Even though it appeared to be clear we only can speculate._

"We don't know, Kathy," Olivia told Elliot's ex-wife. "Come. Sit with me."

Hesitantly Kathy sat down beside the detective.

"Please, Kathy… As I said we don't know anything except that someone fired a shot. As it is Elliot was on the last pictures of the surveillance camera before it was destroyed by the bank robbers."

Kathy gasped with shock and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God! Elliot!"

"We don't know what happened then, Kathy," Olivia told her again. "Maybe it was just a warning…"

"You don't believe that, do you?" Kathy said. "Oh, Olivia. Do you think he's dead?"

"I don't know, Kathy."

"But what do you think?" Her desperation was audible in her voice now and she clawed at Olivia's jacked with her left hand. Olivia hesitated.

"It's possible," she whispered then. "Maybe he got shot. I can't tell. We just don't know. We don't know…"

"Olivia…"

"I know, Kathy. I know." Olivia wrapped her arms around her husband's ex-wife and hugged her compassionately. Both women gave each other comfort, not knowing if the man they loved could be saved from the hostage takers.

xXx

"When can I talk with her?" Mike Logan wanted to know.

"I'm sorry, sir," the nurse said. "But you'll have to wait for Dr. Brosnan." The nurse was not being stubborn, but she really could not tell what she did not know.

"I'm not only a cop, you know," he told her. "I'm also a close friend of Alex."

"And if you'd be the Pope… you'll have to wait."

With that she left him standing where he was and hurried off to work again. So Mike stood and waited until he spotted a man in doctor's jacket leave a room.

"Excuse me, Sir," he said. "Dr. Brosnan?"

"Yes."

"Detective Logan, Major Case. I'm here for Alexandra Eames Goren," Mike told him and produced his badge.

"She's in her room now," Dr. Brosnan told him. "But she needs rest. I'm afraid I can't allow any visitors in."

"And I'm afraid that it can't wait, sir," Mike insisted. "I'll only need a few minutes. She's a police detective, she'll be able to help us a lot."

"Detective Logan," the doctor started, but Mike cut him off.

"She was released from a hostage situation. We need her statement, and we need it now. I'll only be a few minutes." _Am I insisting or begging?_ Mike wondered.

"Room 227," Dr. Brosnan said. "Five minutes."

"Thanks."

Mike strode down the hall in search for Alex's room. When he found it he knocked on the door before he entered. Alex lay in the hospital bed under thick covers and tiredly turned her head when she heard him approach.

"Mike."

"Hey, Alex."

"Anything new about Bobby?" she asked anxiously.

"Not yet."

xXx

Being dead did not feel so much different from being alive.

Lying prone Elliot had difficulties breathing, but he knew he was lucky to be breathing at all. Sometimes a breath caught painfully in his chest. The gun still pressed against the back of his neck and beside him lay the disconnected camera. It took a long while for him to comprehend it all, and then slowly, he came to the realization that Red had shot out the camera. The pain in his head was not from a bullet lodged in his brain, but from being struck by the barrel of the gun as the projectile flew out of it; and the breaths that caught in his chest were his own terrified sobs. As relief and humiliation swept through him, he could only cry harder.

"Shhh, don't cry," Red soothed with a mocking undertone. "You're still here. So you don't have any reason to cry."

But Elliot could not stop the tears. They just kept on rolling and Red's sarcastic tone did not make it any better.

"Why don't you leave him alone?" Bobby asked.

"Shut up, Bobby!" Red snapped. "I'll get to you soon enough!"

_I bet you will,_ Bobby thought. _What are you planning? You didn't demand anything yet… so, how do you plan to get out?_

"Elliot?" Red purred. "You hear me?"

You hear me?

It sounded as if he heard it through cotton batting. Still his heart was beating frantically and blood rushed in his ears. His vision was blurred with tears and his breaths came hard through his mouth because his nose was blocked.

Still lying in the same position did not make it easier at all. Actually Elliot rather felt like suffocating and he struggled to grunt a choked _yeah_.

"Was that supposed to be an answer?" Red teased.

"Yeah," Elliot managed to say a little clearer.

"Good," Red smirked and patted Elliot's shoulder, putting the gun away. "So listen closely. You'll remain silent or the next bullet won't miss. You got that?"

"Yeah," Elliot choked.

"Good."

Elliot could hear the grin in Red's voice and it sent shivers down his spine. The light touch of the man's hand on his shoulder seemed to burn him. Breathing was still hard as his nose was blocked from crying. He sniffled, but it was not enough to clear his airways. Their predicament was worse than ever and his muscles tensed, hurting his wrists as he subconsciously strained against the handcuffs.

"Whoa, easy, Elliot. Easy," Red scolded. "You think you can stay silent? Otherwise I'll have to gag you."

_No!_

The thought made Elliot tense even more. Fear clawed at his heart.

"Elliot?"

_No! No, no, noooo!_

"Elliot."

The detective could hear that Red became angry, but his throat was corded up and he could not answer, even if he wanted to.

"Is that a yes?" Red pushed and Elliot managed a small nod. The man chuckled. "Actually I should congratulate you. You've gotta have nerves of steel. I've seen men piss their pants for less reasons."

_Thanks._

Lying prone, looking to his left side, Elliot could not see Red who was on his right side. All he could see was a wall, a big plant, part of a counter and a ventilation shaft. So he was more or less cut off from what was happening around him. He was bound and, if he was honest with himself, scared to death, so he did not really care right now what Red was up to.

"That's a good boy, Elliot, you just stay down…" he patted Elliot's head like a dog. "And I'm going to see to your buddy now. You know, the one who can't keep his mouth shut."

_Bobby,_ Elliot thought. _God, wish you would just shut the fuck up for once._

"Hmmm… I better make sure that you stay down, right, Elliot?" Red snickered. "Let's see… oh, right."

Elliot heard him get up and walk away, but the footsteps soon returned.

"Okay, Elliot," Red said, "This will let me know if you're trying to wander off."

Something touched Elliot's lower back. At first he thought it was just Red's hand, but the light weight did not leave.

_What is it?_

Tentatively Elliot tensed his leg muscles. The thing danced precariously on his butt.

"Careful, Elliot," Red murmured close to Elliot's ear. "Don't make it drop. The clatter of the pens might startle the hostages and that might startle Green. You don't want that, do you?"

"No," Elliot whispered tonelessly.

"Good." Red smirked and got up. His voice became menacing when he said, "Now to you, _Bobby_."

Once more Elliot heard the man get up while he was left in his current position. A position that he could not change.

The idea alone made his insides constrict.

_He said something about pens. What did he put there? A mug with pens? I drop it and the sound will startle everyone, just like Red said._

Chills crept down his spine. A muscle in his back fluttered and he sensed the mug or whatever it was tremble on his butt.

_Now that's not good. I have to keep it still. Damnit!_

Listening to the fading footsteps Elliot tried to imagine what Red was doing to Bobby, but his thoughts returned to his new predicament.

_I must look ridiculous with my hands cuffed behind my back and a pencil holder balancing on my ass. It's… humiliating._

Right now he could not hear Red anymore. There was some rustling of clothes, a sharp breath, and then, unexpectedly, the ringing of a phone.

tbc…


	11. Chapter 11

**In a Flash**

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews I've got so far. :) I love you all. Thanks to _bammi1_ and _JO_ for their help. I'm sorry for the long wait and that the new chapter isn't that long, but better a short chapter than no chapter. Right? I hope that I'll get back into it now. We'll see. Enjoy.

**Ch 11**

"And I tell you once again that we must to get back in touch with the men!" Jaenicke said, feeling his patience being put to the test.

"What's the sense of talking?" Tippe barked. "They killed a hostage! They killed a cop! The time to talk is over! We should go in now as long as we still have a chance to get the other hostages out!"

"I think Jaenicke is right," Deakins threw in.

"Would you say the same if it wouldn't be for your detective?" Tippe challenged.

"Yes, I would," Deakins thundered. "I don't like your implication, Sergeant. We will find a way to get them all out unharmed."

"You'll get them out in several pieces," Tippe growled.

"Yeah, if we do it your way," Jaenicke huffed. At the same time he was angry at himself for losing his cool. If he did that on the phone it could be disastrous.

Tense silence fell.

"That's what I thought," Jaenicke said and turned to the phone. It rang four times.

"Red."

"Talk to me." Jaenicke held his breath.

"I will," Red told him. "In ten minutes."

"We will not come in if we can talk now," Jaenicke replied. "Is anyone injured?"

"You tricked us with the cameras," Red screamed into the phone. "You're lucky I don't drag one of the hostages to the door and throw her out with a bullet in her head! You'll get your answers… as long as you stay outside and call again in ten minutes."

"We're both on the phone now, so why don't we…"

"Ten. Minutes."

With that the line went dead.

"We've got to get in!" Tippe piped up. "Who knows what he can do in ten minutes? Heck, in one minute! They can all be dead in a minute!"

"They didn't shoot anyone yet," Jaenicke barked, then reigned himself in again. "We don't even know if he shot at Stabler! For all we know he could have shot the camera! We need to determine if all hostages are okay and get Red and his men to release more people."

"And while we wait here for ten minutes they kill the whole group and get away through… God knows what or where," Tippe growled.

"The whole building is under surveillance, "Deakins cut in now. "They can't get out unnoticed."

"I agree to something being up, though," Jaenicke said. "Red dictated the ten minutes to us to have time to get something done. We need to find out what that is."

"Good luck," Tippe growled. "No cameras, no mikes…"

"Trace phone calls… they can't use the phones in the bank without being tapped. We also monitor mobile connections."

"As I said… good luck."

xXx

"Okay, let's see which one's the one we need," Red cheered as he turned the bag over and scattered the mobile phones on the floor in front of Dustin Worthington who still was bound and gagged. "Hm, Dusty? Which one is yours?"

"Hm hmmm."

"What?"

"Hm hm hmmmm."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Red purred.

"Hm hm hmmmmmmmmm!"

"Oh, now I get what's wrong," Red cheered and reached for the tape over the boy's mouth, ripping it off.

"Ouch!" Worthington junior howled.

"Don't be such a sissy! C'mon! Which one is yours?"

Defiantly the boy stared up at Red who towered over him, standing akimbo.

"C'mon, we don't have all day! I'll count to three. If I don't have the phone by then…" he made a scissoring motion with his hand toward the boy's groin.

"The blue Blackberry," Dustin croaked.

Red let his gaze wander over the pile of phones, found it, and picked it up. "Code!"

Dustin pouted.

"The code!" Red pushed, kicking at the boy's legs.

"Two, two, eight, four."

"Thank you," Red sneered and put the tape back over the boy's mouth. Then he entered the code. Clicking through the menu he found the phone book and the number he was looking for and dialed.

An excited voice flooded out of the speaker, assuming to talk with Dustin.

"I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, _Daddy_," Red snickered. "No check, only cash, _Daddy_."

Red smirked devilishly when he listened to the answer.

"No! You're gonna listen! You'll get us cash, only cash. You'll do exactly as you're told and maybe, just maybe, I'll leave your brat alive."

xXx

Bobby Goren watched the scene with trepidation.

He took a deep breath and then another, trying to fight the pain. Due to the strained position he was forced in by his arms tied above his head his shoulders and back hurt. Now new pain added to his agony. After Red had left Elliot in his humiliating position with the pen holder on his butt he came over to Bobby and, without any warning, grabbed the little finger of his left hand. Bending it back with a swift motion he broke the bone.

Bobby could have screamed. He still did not know why he did not even groan and blamed it on the shock.

His left hand hurt so much by now that he could hardly feel it anymore. The handcuff did its share, restricting blood circulation.

_What is Newcombe up to?_ Bobby wondered. _He has no reason to be so cruel and brutal. He's only doing it for the fun he gets out of it, especially with Elliot._

His gaze drifted to his colleague.

Elliot still lay on his stomach, his wrists handcuffed behind his back, motionless. A simple twitch of a muscle could cause the pen holder on his butt cheek to fall and Bobby did not doubt that the clatter of the pens might push one of the men over the edge, making him shoot randomly.

_It must be hell for you,_ Bobby thought. _Please hold out Elliot. I want to have the chance to invite you to a drink or two in return for helping Alex._

Inwardly he chuckled bitterly.

Y_ou saved our children! I can never repay you for that._

When Red shot at the camera Bobby had thought that was it, honestly believing that Elliot was dead. He could not find words for the relief that flooded him when he saw him move, heard him breathe, and realized that he was still alive. Bobby did not know why Red did not kill Elliot but he was infinitely grateful.

His insides constricted with sympathetic pain when Red taunted Elliot and planted the mug on his butt. It was so degrading and could turn out to be deadly in case it would drop.

It still was there and did not even tremble.

_Brave man,_ Bobby thought. _Please hold out. Our colleagues will get us out. They have to! God, I hope we get out soon, all of us, hostages and hostage takers._

His finger throbbed terribly.

_Was that part of your revenge, Travis Newcombe?_ Bobby wondered. _What else do you have in store for me?_

Now Red picked up the boy's phone.

Bobby tried to listen in to the call he made. Worthington senior. That could only mean that the man wanted to extort ransom.

It was as obvious to the Major Case detective as the nose on his face. He could not understand how much Red demanded, the details of the transfer, or if he even mentioned those details already.

_How does he plan to get to the money? We're stuck here in the bank. I don't think that the police will allow anyone to bring the ransom in. At least not without a hostage or two in exchange._

His gaze wandered over the group of people huddled together on the floor. Most of them looked rather tired by now. The stress and constant fear took their toll. Given that Bobby was surprised that no one got hysterical so far. The only one who broke rank was Worthington junior and he paid for his insolence.

_Even though he reacted brutally he still avoided killing,_ Bobby thought. _It's a miracle. I would've expected him to just shoot and think later. That he's not prepared to take a life is nothing short of amazing. Though I'm certain that he will kill if he is provoked. If the cops don't agree with his demands he'll send them a dead hostage. I'm sure about that._

Over his musings he did not notice that Red was approaching him again, so he was surprised when a hand closed around his own, squeezing.

"Arghhhh!" he groaned.

"Oh, a sound," Red teased. "I already thought you were insensible, but you obviously feel pain."

_Yes, I do. _Bobby bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from groaning again. Once more Red squeezed and he sucked in a sharp breath, fighting not to scream.

"Oh, c'mon, Bobby! Don't pretend not to be in pain. No one believes it anyway! So you can save your false bravery for when you go to see your dentist. Well, that is if you ever get to see a dentist again."

_Why? Because you're going to kill me?_

"C'mon, Bobby. You don't have anything to say?"

Well, yes, he had, but would Red tolerate it? There was only one way to find out, and Bobby decided to take the risk.

"Is that really necessary?" he asked, nodding at Elliot in his predicament.

Red turned his head to look at the prone detective.

"No," he said. "But where would be the fun without it?"

"He helped you."

"Yes, he did. So?"

xXx

Maureen Stabler watched her mother and Olivia from the distance. She held the baby in her arms, her little brother. Okay, he was her half-brother to be exact, but that made no difference for her. Actually she liked Olivia a lot. Maureen hated that her parents got divorced, but when her father found someone new she was glad that it was Olivia rather than someone else, least of all a young blonde with no brains as the cliché suggested.

She wondered what they were talking about but hesitated to go to them. Here, so far behind the police cordon, she felt safe. It was better to stay here, especially with EJ.

When her mother looked up and into her direction she waved at her to catch her attention and got it. She saw the women exchange a few words, then both got up and while Kathy went to her daughter Olivia returned to the mobile command centre.

"What did she say?" Maureen demanded to know as soon as her mother was within earshot.

"That they don't know anything," Kathy admitted. There was no reason to withhold the truth from Maureen. As her eldest she could handle it. She was not so sure about Kathleen, though.

"Anything new about dad?"

"No."

"Someone shot, right?"

"Yes, but they don't know what happened."

"How can they not know?" Maureen prodded. Even though she did not know the details she still knew that the police had means to survey the villains. There had to be CCTV in the bank for example.

"I don't know, Maureen," Kathy said, taking EJ from her.

"But what about dad?"

"Olivia just went to see the captain. She'll let us know as soon as she hears anything new."

Maureen took a deep breath and sighed. It was not the first time that they waited for her father to come home. There had been nights of insecurity when they did not know where he was and they went to hospital because he got injured on the job.

This was nothing like that.

This was a hostage taking.

This was a madman with a gun and accomplices who threatened her father's life.

This was a trial unlike any other before.

This forced Maureen to remember her Catholic upbringing. Finding a relatively calm spot she turned her thoughts inwards and prayed for her father's safe return as well as for the lives off all the other hostages.

xXx

The stress of being held hostage as well as giving birth had made Alex tired. When she woke up she felt disoriented and she had difficulty keeping her eyes open. She still felt rather groggy.

"Hello, Alex?"

A female voice. Alex blinked and moaned when she turned her head.

"Mom."

"Oh, Alex! I'm so glad that you're awake!" her mother said gently. "We feared the worst."

"You did?" Alex was confused. Her memory needed a moment to catch up. "Where's Dad?"

"He went to get a coffee."

"Oh, coffee would be wonderful," Alex sighed.

"No, no, Alex. No coffee for you. Not yet."

"Mom!" she protested.

"No, Alex," her mother said. "You better rest. You'll need your energy for your babies."

_Babies!_

With a start Alex remembered and not only did she recall the three children she gave birth to but also the tense situation in the bank.

"Bobby!" she called out. "Where's Bobby? How is he? Could they get him out?"

Mrs. Eames looked shocked. Reaching out for her daughter's shoulders she tried to gently push her back down as Alex struggled to get out of the bed.

"Alex! Lie back down! Please."

"But, Mom. Bobby needs my help."

"Your colleagues are taking care of everything. _You_ need to take care of yourself, and of your babies."

"My babies," Alex said tonelessly and sank back down in the pillow. "Where are they?"

"They are in the nursery," Mrs. Eames told her, smiling lovingly. "All three are very much all right. I'm so grateful to the man who got you out."

"Elliot," Alex recalled. "He's still in there, with Bobby." Searchingly she looked around. "Mom, can you switch on the TV?"

"Alex, no," Mrs. Eames pleaded. "Don't stress yourself like that. Please rest. Captain Deakins has our cell phone number. He'll let us know as soon as he has something to tell us."

Alex was not really reassured, but she felt the tiredness creep up inside of her again. She wanted to argue, wanted to tell her mother that she needed to help Bobby, but it was senseless. Fatigue overcame her and she drifted off to a restless sleep.

xXx

"So you should give him a break," Bobby said.

"Should I?" Crossing his arms over his chest Red peered at Bobby. "Maybe I could." He looked over to Elliot. "But no, it's so much more fun as it is."

Bobby did not like the answer, but he did not dare to push the matter. Instead he said, "You'll have to tell Douglas Jaenicke the truth about Elliot."

"Oh, really?" Red said with mock incredulity. "Why should I?"

"You can use it to get your requests granted. Prove that you didn't kill for the kill's sake. You'll get more respect by…"

The detective's words caught in his throat as once again Red squeezed his wrist. Bobby tried not to breathe, tried to hold in the pain as Red slowly and maliciously broke yet another of his fingers.

"Wanna try for another?" Red grinned.

"Fuck you!" Bobby snarled, and Red's grin broadened even more.

"I think I could arrange for a fucking, Bobby, only it will be _me_ fucking _you_..." Red suggested maliciously, as he and his cohorts all laughed. A few women gasped.

Bobby tried with everything he had to get at Red.

"I think he wants you, Red, " Green laughed.

"I think so, too," Red agreed. Red went behind Bobby as far as the stairs allowed, and putting his hands on Bobby's butt, ground into him. "Yeah, Bobby, soon as I get us out of here, me and you are gonna have a go at this," he whispered into Bobby's ear.

Bobby momentarily shut his eyes, trying to blot that thought out as he tried to move himself from Red's grasp, but Red only held on tighter.

"You and me have a history, Boy, and you got a lot of making up to do... this could be a small start."

Around Bobby, grinding even more against him, Red glanced at his watch.

"Too bad, it's time to make that call," he snarled. Sensing the tension in the detective he leered, "You got more to say, Bobby?"

_Rot in hell,_ Bobby thought and bit his tongue so as to not make a snide remark.

"Didn't think so," Red taunted and went over to the counter to pick up the phone. "Let's see if your negotiator plays by the rules."

With that he lifted the receiver, a mad grin on his face and an evil twinkle in his eyes.

tbc…


End file.
